Dr. Curwen was born in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, graduated from Yale (1841), and received his M.D. (1844) from the University of Pennsylvania. He was appointed assistant physician at the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane under Dr. Kirkbride that same year. In 1851, he became Superintendent of the State Lunatic Asylum in Harrisburg, Pa., and in 1881, he moved to a similar position at the Warren State Hospital for the Insane, where he remained until 1900.He was connected with hospitals for the care and treatment of the insane for 57 years.
Dr. Curwen was an honorary member of the British Medico-Psychological Association, a member of the American Philosophical Association, the American Medical Association, President of the Pennsylvania State Medical Society (1869), and a Trustee of LaFayette College. He was personally acquainted with each of the 13 original founders of the Association of Medical Superintendents of American Institutions for the Insane and served as secretary and acting treasurer for the Association, which later became the American Medico-Psychological Association.
He held the post for 34 years. During that time, he contributed to the literature and published an index of articles in the American Journal of Insanity. Dr. Curwen was President of the American Medico-Psychological Association (1893–94).