Rush Medical College (often referred to simply as "Rush") is the medical school of Rush University, a private university in Chicago, Illinois. Rush Medical College was one of the first medical colleges in the state of Illinois and was chartered in 1837, two days before the city of Chicago was chartered, and opened with 22 students on December 4, 1843. Its founder, Dr. Daniel Brainard, named the school in honor of Dr. Benjamin Rush, the only physician with medical school training to sign the Declaration of Independence and who would later teach Meriwether Lewis the basic medical skills for his expedition with William Clark to the Pacific Northwest. Dr. Rush was also known as the "Father of American Psychiatry." During its 1st century of operation, more than 10,000 physicians received their training at Rush Medical College; a "Rush Doctor" was a highly-prized commodity in the American West of the 19th century. Rush Medical College was affiliated with the University of Chicago from 1898 until 1942. With the onset of World War II, the medical college temporarily suspended its educational program, though it continued its corporate existence.