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Finding Aid for the Willard Goodwin collection of William Osler
correspondence 1893-1947
295
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Title: Willard Goodwin collection of William Osler
correspondence,
Date (inclusive): 1893-1947
Collection number: 295
Creator: Willard E. Goodwin
1915-1998
Extent:
1 box (0.5 linear ft.)
Repository:
University of California, Los Angeles. Library.
Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library History and Special Collections
for the Sciences
Los Angeles, California 90095-1490
Abstract: The collection is built around two sets of letters:
1. Twenty original letters from William Osler, M.D. to Howard Atwood Kelly,
M.D., dated 1897-1917, plus the notes and materials Dr. Goodwin used to write an
article for the "Bulletin of the History of Medicine" (20(5): 611-652, Dec.
1946) on the relationship between Osler and Kelly and correspondence pertaining
to that article before and after its publication. 2. Transcriptions of many
letters from Osler to Henry Barton Jacobs, M.D., dated 1893-1919, and extensive
notes made by Dr. Goodwin who probably intended to publish an article based upon
this correspondence.
Physical location: UCLA Biomedical Library History and Special
Collections for the Sciences cage manuscripts
Language of Material: Collection materials in English
Collection is open for research.
Property rights in the physical objects belong to the UCLA Biomedical
Library. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and
their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds
the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission
to publish if the Biomedical Library does not hold the copyright.
[Identification of item], Willard Goodwin collection of William Osler
correspondence, 295, Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library History and Special
Collections for the Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles.
Donated to the UCLA Biomedical Library by the family of Willard Goodwin, M.D.
in 1999.
Sir William Osler, 1st Baronet (1849–1919) has been called the Father
of Modern Medicine and his influence on medical education and practice is still
huge. He was a person of great charm, energy, and wide intellectual interests,
who excelled as physician, teacher, bibliophile, and author. Canadian born, he
received an M.D. from McGill University, Montreal, and taught there for 10
years. His career continued as Chair of Clinical Medicine at the University of
Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, then first Chief of Staff at Johns Hopkins Hospital
and Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and
finally Regius Chair of Medicine at Oxford University. Throughout his life Osler
was known to write a large number of notes and letters to his wide circle of
friends and acquaintances.
The distinguished American gynecologist Howard Atwood Kelly
(1858–1943) received his M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, where
he also taught for a number of years and came to know William Osler. The two
were rejoined when Kelly was appointed professor of gynecology and obstetrics at
Johns Hopkins University. They made up half of "The Four Doctors" who founded
Johns Hopkins Hospital and are depicted in a famous group portrait by John
Singer Sargent. The pair also shared an interest in medical history and a strong
love of book collecting. Kelly's interest also extended to natural history; he
was a herpetologist of some renown.
Henry Barton Jacobs (1858-1939) received his A.B. and M.D. degrees from
Harvard University. Within a year of his medical school graduation he moved to
Baltimore to become the private physician for Robert Garrett, president of the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. In 1889 he joined the dispensary service of the
newly-opened Johns Hopkins Hospital, under physician-in-chief William Osler.
Later he also taught classes in physical diagnosis and therapeutics at the Johns
Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Jacobs was especially interested in
combating tuberculosis and he took an active role in anti-TB campaigns; for many
years he served as secretary of the National Tuberculosis Association. Jacobs
was not only a physician serving under Osler's guidance; the two became friends
through their shared interest in medical history and collecting of books, and
they were close physical neighbors on Franklin Street in Baltimore.
The collection is organized into the following series:
- Series 1. William Osler letters to Howard A. Kelly, 1897-1947. 10 folders
- Series 2. William Osler letters to Henry Barton Jacobs, 1893-1949. 2 folders
UCLA BIOMEDICAL LIBRARY HISTORY AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS FOR THE SCIENCES
Manuscript Colletion #181: "Sir William Osler Portrait by Seymour Thomas, and
other Osler-Related Papers". Documents about the original portrait and the
acquisition and presentation of the replica hung at UCLA, which was obtained
through Dr. Elmer Belt's initiative and support. Includes one folder of
Osleriana assembled by Elmer Belt and letters to and from him and Willard
Goodwin.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this
collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Goodwin, Willard
E., 1915-1998 -- Archives
Jacobs, Henry
Barton, 1852-1939
Kelly, Howard A.
(Howard Atwood), 1858-1943
Osler, William,
Sir, 1849-1919
Physicians-- |Correspondence,
reminiscences, etc.