Bernard J. D. Irwin Military person

Bernard John Dowling Irwin (June 24, 1830 – December 15, 1917) was an assistant army surgeon during the Apache Wars and the first (chronologically by action) Medal of Honor recipient. His actions on February 13, 1861 are the earliest for which the Medal of Honor was awarded.Irwin was also interested in natural history and while at Fort Buchanan, Arizona in 1858-1860 he collected reptile specimens for the Smithsonian Institution. In 1857 Irwin donated a meteorite to the Smithsonian Institution that came to be known as the Irwin-Ainsa (Tucson) meteorite.A collection of his papers is held at the National Library of Medicine

Personal facts

Birth date	June 24, 1830
Birth place	Ireland
Date of death	December 15, 1917
Place of death	Cobourg , Canada
Resting place	West Point Cemetery

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Military person

allegiance	United States of America
award	Medal of Honor
military operations	American Civil War Apache Wars
military branch	United States Army
service start	1856
service end	1894