Thorough scientific training qualified Dr. Charles D. Cobb to take up the active work of the profession to which he has devoted his life and has won for him place among the representative physicians and surgeons of Alameda county. A resident of Oakland, the extent of his practice indicates his high standing in the regard of his fellow citizens, for he has been accorded a most liberal practice, that finds its justification in the splendid results that attend his ministrations. California claims him as a native son, his birth having occurred in San Francisco, on the 12th of December, 1872, his parents being Isaac and Katharine Cobb. Following the discovery of gold on the Pacific coast the father came to California in 1849 and sought wealth in the mines near Redding until 1853. Like many others, he recognized the fact that, while gold was not to be had for the asking, this rich state offered many other opportunities for the attainment of success and in the year mentioned he removed to Solano county, where he secured a ranch of two thousand acres. Thereon he engaged in farming until 1866, when he removed to San Jose, where he purchased a large tract of land. He was one of the first to raise prunes in the valley and gave strong impetus to what is now one of the most important horticultural enterprises of the state. He continued in active connection with the fruit-raising interests until death terminated his labors in 1880.
In the meantime the family home had been established in San Francisco and Dr. Cobb there pursued his early education to the age of ten years. He then crossed the continent to Boston, Massachusetts, where he became a high-school pupil, being graduated at the very early age of thirteen. He afterward became a student in the State Normal at San Jose and was graduated with the class of 1888. For four months he engaged in teaching and then returned to Boston, where he entered the College of Oratory, in which he completed a course in 1889. Immediately afterward he again came to California and through the succeeding three years was a student in the State University, making a specialty of social science. He afterward spent a year in the Cooper Medical College and on the expiration of that period went to Chicago, where he studied for a year in the Rush Medical College. The succeeding year was passed as a student in the St. Louis Medical College, from which he in due time graduated. He also attended courses of lectures in the Marion Sims Medical College of St. Louis and is a graduate of that institution. Still later he did post-graduate work in the Harvard Medical College, remaining there for a year and a half, after which he became instructor of clinical surgery in the St. Louis University, occupying that chair until 1905. In the same year he again went to Boston, where he practiced for a year, and then returned to the Pacific coast, spending four years in practice in Seattle, Washington. The succeeding two years were devoted to clinical work in the east and since his return to California he has been practicing continuously in Oakland. No dreary novitiate awaited him here. His reputation had already extended to this section of the country, and his pronounced ability brought him almost immediate success. Always careful and cautious in diagnosis, prompt and ready in action, his efforts have been followed with excellent results and his practice has been not only of an extensive but also of a most important character. He has contributed to the literature of the profession as a newspaper and magazine editor and writer and his opinions upon various subjects are largely accepted as standard. Never content with what he has accomplished, he is continually broadening his knowledge by further reading, research and investigation, and he has few equals on the coast in the breadth of his knowledge and none who recognize more truly the opportunities and the responsibilities of the profession.
In Bradford, Pennsylvania, in May, 1906, Dr. Cobb married Miss Rogerson, and they have one son, Charles, who is six years old. Politically Dr. Cobb is a republican and fraternally belongs to the Native Sons, the Loyal Order of Moose, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Masons. He is also a member of the University Club of California, there meeting kindred spirits, all of whom pronounce him a hail fellow well met. Along professional lines he belongs to the Alameda County Medical Society. Since coming to Oakland Dr. Cobb has taken a great interest in the growth and development of this city and in a quiet way has supported a number of enterprises which have for their aim a greater and better Oakland.
Past and Present of Alameda County California, Vol. II
Published in Chicago by The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company
1914
Transcribed by Linda Jackson 8/10/2008, Pages 566-568
Alameda County Biographies ~ Archive Biography Index ~ Archive Index
Copyright © 1996-2009; This Web page is sponsored by Supporters on behalf of the California portion of The USGenWeb Project by The Administrative Team of the CAGW. Although believed to be correct as presented, if you note any corrections, changes, additions, or find that any links provided on this page are not functioning properly please contact the Archive Coordinator for prompt attention to the matter.