Quick Facts
AriesBiography
Joseph Lee Kirby-Smith (April 16, 1882 – November 5, 1939) was a college football player and dermatologist. He was once instructor of dermatology at New York University.
Early years
Joseph Lee Kirby-Smith was born on April 16, 1882 in Sewanee, Tennessee, the son of American Civil War general Edmund Kirby-Smith and his wife Cassie Selden. He was presumably named for Edmund's nephew Joseph Lee Kirby-Smith, who died fighting for the Union at the Battle of Corinth.
Sewanee
He was an All-Southern college football tackle for the Sewanee Tigers of Sewanee:The University of the South, a member of its undefeated 1899 "Iron Men." He was selected All-Southern in 1902 and 1903; and was captain in the latter year. He graduated with an M. D. in 1906. At Sewanee he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity.
World War 1
He served in the Public Health Service during the First World War.
Jacksonville
He moved to Jacksonville, Florida in 1911 practicing as a dermatologist and gaining distinction throughout Florida and the south. In 1926, he was invited to lecture to the London Medical Association on the subject of tropical medicine.
Death
Kirby-Smith died in his Jacksonville home on November 5, 1939 of a brief illness.