Dr. Peter Bryce
Class of 1855
Hometown: Columbia, SC
- Alabama's first psychiatrist. He became Superintendent of the Alabama Hospital for the Insane from its inception in 1860 until his death in 1892. By the 1880's his hospital was considered one of the finest mental health hospitals in the world.
- During the Civil War, Bryce was a commissioned Surgeon in the CSA. Bryce treated and saved the lives of hundreds of soldiers, both Confederate and Union.
- Bryce was a pioneer in the humane treatment of the mentally ill, eschewing the use of restraints and other debilitating treatments. His therapy became a basic practice of modern psychiatry and won him international recognition and acclaim.
- Bryce was elected president of the predecessor to the American Psychiatric Association and also served as president of both the state medical and state historical associations in Alabama.