Bernard J. D. Irwin, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Bernard J. D. Irwin

United States Army Medal of Honor recipient

Date of Birth: 24-Jun-1830

Place of Birth: County Roscommon, Connacht, Ireland

Date of Death: 15-Dec-1917

Profession: surgeon, military physician

Nationality: United States

Zodiac Sign: Cancer

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 had an interest 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