Thomas Story Kirkbride (July 31, 1809 – December 16, 1883) was a physician, alienist, and hospital superintendent for the Institute of the Pennsylvania Hospital, and primary founder of the Association of Medical Superintendents of American Institutions for the Insane (AMSAII), the organizational precursor to the American Psychiatric Association.

[1][2] Along with Benjamin Rush, he is considered to be the father of the modern American practice of psychiatry as a specific medical discipline.

In January 1841, the first patients were admitted to the ward to offer relief to the site of Pennsylvania Hospital's South Philadelphia campus.

In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during October 1844, Kirkbride helped found the Association of Medical Superintendents of American Institutions for the Insane (AMSAII).

Towards the end of his life, Lafayette College awarded him an LL.D "in recognition of his eminent ability and the remarkable services rendered to suffering humanity".

Subsequent to this appeal, he was offered the position of superintendent of the male department of the new state hospital, which he declined, preferring to maintain his inpatient practice in Philadelphia.

Kirkbride experienced a prolonged respiratory illness starting in June 1883, which continued until his death from pneumonia on December 16, 1883, at his home on the grounds of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane.