On 7 February 1817, United States President James Madison appointed Joel Hart as the consul at Leith, Scotland, a position in which he would remain until 1832. Born in Philadelphia, Hart received his M.D. from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, London. While in London, he met and married his wife, Louisa Levien. Hart was also a prominent member of the Medical Society of the County of New York and was one of the founders of the College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1807. Hart’s father, Ephraim, was a prominent Jewish American business leader who helped to organize the...