Records of the Section on Medical History of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia II

Collection

Identifier: CPP 12/003-02

Scope and Contents

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These records of the Chairman of the Section on Medical History of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia consist of correspondence, memoranda, reports, lecture announcements, and minutes of the Executive Committee of the Section on Medical History, The collection spans 1974 to 1985 and includes the records of Lawrence Charles Parish, chairman of the section from 1975 to 1978, and Steven J. Peitzman, chairman from 1982 to 1985.

Series 1 contains the records of Lawrence Charles Parish. Present is correspondence, memoranda, lecture announcements, and minutes of the Executive Committee of the section; Parish arranged all of this material chronologically in his files. Documented in these records is the formation of an Institute for the History of Medicine (1976), and the establishment of the W, B, McDaniel Memorial Lecture (1976) and the Benjamin Spector Memorial Lecture (1977). Series 1 also contains records pertaining to a special meeting of the Section on Medical History devoted to lectures on Sherlock Holmes (1976 March 17) and another section meeting held in honor of Black Medical History Day (1976 December 15).

Most of the correspondence in Series 1 is with Dorothy I. Lansing, the Clerk of the Section on Medical History, who worked closely with Parish in planning section activities. Other correspondents in the collection include President John P, Hubbard, Executive Director William F. Chaveas, and Executive Committee members Herman Beerman and Samuel X Radbill. Also included are letters from individuals who presented lectures at section meetings, including Morris H. Saffron, Donald C. Geist, Toby Gelfand, John Ellis, Steven Selden, Samuel P. Martin, John A, Kenney, and Baruch S, Blumberg.

Series 2 contains the records of Steven J, Peitzman; included is correspondence, reports, and lecture announcements. The correspondence in this series is primarily with members of the Executive Committee of the Section on Medical History, including Samuel X Radbill, Herman Beerman, Palmer Howard Futcher, Barbara Bates, and Lawrence Charles Parish. Also present are letters from Christine A, Ruggere, Curator of Historical Collections of the Library of the College of Physicians, concerning the acquisition of the Daniel J, Swinney papers, which were purchased with funds donated by the Section on Medical History. Series 2 also includes correspondence pertaining to Joseph T. Freeman's plan to establish a Section on Geriatrics at the College of Physicians.

Dates

Creation: 1974 - 1985

Creator

College of Physicians of Philadelphia. Section on Medical History (Organization)

Biographical / Historical

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On 2 November 1904, the Secretary of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia announced that President Arthur V. Meigs had authorized the formation of a new section of the College, the Section on Medical History. The new section was formed according to the 1900 by-laws of the College of Physicians, which state that a section may be created when fifteen Fellows submit a written request to the President; when the President approves the request, a new section is formed. On 1 February 1905, President Meigs appointed Francis R. Packard, Charles Oliver, and Samuel McClintock Hamill to serve on the Executive Committee of the Section on Medical History, William Pepper became clerk of the section, and Roland G. Curtin was selected as chairman.

Starting in 1905, the section began holding meetings at which lectures on medical history were presented. The section invited papers from physicians and scholars from a variety of backgrounds; most of these papers were published in Transactions and Studies. Over the years, many notable figures lectured at section meetings, including Sir William Osler, John F. Fulton, and Karl Sudhoff. In the 1940s, the section embarked on a cooperative effort with area medical schools to present medical history lectures to Philadelphia medical students. By the 1970s, the section had become the sponsor of several annual lectures, including the Kate Hurd Mead Lecture (co-sponsored by the [Woman’s] Medical College of Pennsylvania, now Drexel College of Medicine) which was started in 1952, the Samuel X Radbill Lecture (1974), and the W. B. McDaniel Memorial Lecture (1976).

As of 1992, the Section on Medical History remains an active body of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. The section continues to hold lectures on the history of medicine, many of which are co-sponsored by the Francis C. Wood Institute.

Full Extent

.8 Linear feet (2 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Custodial History

This collection of records of the Chairman of the Section on Medical History of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia was separated from the records of the Section Clerk, 1953- 1982, during processing.

The collection was processed and catalogued in 1992.

Subjects

Genre / Form

Record Groups

CPP 12. Records of the Sections of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia (CLOSED)

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title: Records of the Section on Medical History of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia II
Description rules: Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description: English
Script of description: Latin