He was one of the original members of the Massachusetts Medical Society, its president 1787–1795, and one of the founders of the Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1780.

On April 19, 1775, British forces were returning to Boston from the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the opening engagements of the war.

Dr. Cotton Tufts saved the life of Samuel Whittemore who at the time was 78 years old and fought against the British in what is now Arlington, Massachusetts, on April 19, 1775.

[2] Whittemore was in his fields when he spotted an approaching British relief brigade under Earl Percy, sent to assist the retreat.

He was shot in the face, bayoneted thirteen times, and left for dead in a pool of blood in Menotomy (present-day Arlington).