Willard Goodwin collection of William Osler correspondence, 1893-1947

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Summary

Creators:
Willard E. Goodwin 1915-1998
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.
Extent:
0.5 Linear Feet (1 box)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Willard Goodwin collection of William Osler correspondence (Collection 295). Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library History and Special Collections for the Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles.

Background

Scope and content:

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

Biographical / historical:

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.

Acquisition information:
Donated to the UCLA Biomedical Library by the family of Willard Goodwin, M.D. in 1999.
Processing information:

Collections are processed to a variety of levels depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived user interest and research value, availability of staff and resources, and competing priorities. Library Special Collections provides a standard level of preservation and access for all collections and, when time and resources permit, conducts more intensive processing. These materials have been arranged and described according to national and local standards and best practices.

Collection processed by UCLA Biomedical Library staff.

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Physical location:
Held at UCLA Library Special Collections. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.

Terms of access:

Property rights to the physical objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other 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 where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Willard Goodwin collection of William Osler correspondence (Collection 295). Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library History and Special Collections for the Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles.

Location of this collection:
Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library
12-077 Center for Health Sciences, Box 951798
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1798, US
Contact:
(310) 825-6940
AskLSC@library.ucla.edu
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