Rush was born in Philadelphia on Jan. 4, 1746. He grew up in Philadelphia and went to college at the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University). He did a medical training in Europe. He got a medical degree from the University of Edinburgh. Rush returned to the American colonies. He became a professor at the College of Philadelphia (now University of Pennsylvania). Rush had a medical practice and rescued the American Philosophical Society. His publications include the first American chemistry textbook. 