Quick Facts
Biography
Thomas Wiltberger Evans (December 23, 1823 – November 14, 1897) was a dentist. He performed dental procedures on many heads of state, including Napoleon III, and received numerous medals for his dentistry, including the Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur. He is noted for popularizing a number of techniques that have since become standard, including the use of amalgam fillings and of nitrous oxide.
In 1868, Evans helped found the American Register, the first American newspaper published in Paris. In 1884 he published the first English translation of the memoirs of Heinrich Heine, to which he also wrote the introduction.
He was famous for having assisted the Empress Eugénie in escaping from Paris in 1870 after the Battle of Sedan.
He died in Paris, where he had lived for many years, and was buried in Woodlands Cemetery, Philadelphia. In his will, he left money and land for the founding of what was to become the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine.