was a close friend of U.S. Senator Theodore Foster, whom he had met at college. In 1801 Drowne returned to Rhode Island and bought a farm next to Senator Foster in Foster, Rhode Island naming his farm Mt. Hygeia after the Greek goddess of health. Drowne used the farm for botanical research and named his driveway the "Appian Way". (As near as can be determined, Drown's home was built around 1806 as determined by Anselyn Lynch researching for the National Register of Historic Places - the house is on the Register). The first honorary Doctor of Medicine degree from Brown Medical School was conferred upon Solomon Drowne in 1804. In 1811, Drowne was appointed Professor of Botany and Materia Medica in the medical department at Rhode Island College (now Brown University Medical School). He laid out the college's first botanical garden, became one of the original members of the Rhode Island Medical Society and one of the founders of the Rhode Island Society for the Encouragement of Domestic Industry. With his son William Drowne, he co-wrote The Farmer's Guide, a thorough guide on husbandry and gardening, in 1824. Drowne's papers are now a part of Brown University's collection. Quotes The phrase "the whole Fraternity of Noise", describing the growing street noise in Philadelphia's downtown, is often misattributed to Benjamin Franklin, but actually originates in a letter from Drowne to his brother William while Solomon was in Philadelphia in 1774. References External links Solomon Drowne on Encyclopedia Brunoniana. Drowne's Privateering during the American Revolution. Excerpts from Drowne's journal on board the Hope. 1753 births 1834 deaths American military doctors People from Providence, Rhode Island Physicians in the American Revolution People of colonial Rhode Island People of Rhode Island in the American Revolution Brown University alumni Brown University faculty Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania alumni Geisel School of Medicine alumni Physicians from Rhode Island