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Dr. John R. Briggs, a member of that great band of philanthropists whose effort has been to save man from the ills to which flesh is heir, was born in the State of Tennessee, in 1851, and is a son of James W. and Polly Briggs, who were also natives of Tennessee. The parents removed to Texas in 1877, and located in Fannin county, whence they moved to Gainesville, Cooke County, where they reside at the present time. The Doctor acquired an elementary education in the private schools of his native State, and made excellent use of his rather limited opportunities. The first medical lectures he attended were delivered in the college at Nashville, Tennessee, in 1873. He after-ward entered the Missouri Medical College at St. Louis, Missouri, and was graduated with the class of 1880. lie began the prac-tice of his profession in Texas, at Savoy, and removed thence to Gainesville, and from thence to Fort Worth, finally coming to Dallas. Here he has made a specialty of the treatment of the eye, ear and throat, and has met with very flattering success in this branch of the profession. Dr. Briggs is the founder of the Texas HealtA Journal, which has reached its fourth year. He is a writer of fine perceptions, with a polished style and finish worthy of one making greater literary claims. Aside from his professional duties he finds time for other interests. He is a member of the 1. 0. 0. F. fraternity, and belongs to the Baptist Church, and is at present a member of the Dallas City Council. Politically he adheres to the principles of the Democratic party, and is fearless and outspoken in his convictions of right and wrong.

Dr. Briggs was awarded the $100 in each of two gold prize essays for the best original paper on any medical subject presented to the Texas State Medical Association for the years 1886 and 1888.

He was married in 1887, to Miss Annie Carson Cooke, of Tennessee. Four children have been born of this union: Maudie Adelaide, John Roy, Jr., Raymond and Stella.

John Henry Brown's History of Dallas County, 1892, pp. 497