Category: Social Sciences, Maryland
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In 1761, fifteen years before the United States of America burst onto the world stage with the Declaration of Independence, the American colonists were loyal British subjects who celebrated the coronation of their new King, George III. The colonies that stretched from present-day Maine to Georgia were distinctly English in character although they had been settled by Scots, Welsh, Irish, Dutch, Swedes, Finns, Africans, French, Germans, and Swiss, as well as English. As English men and women, the American colonists were heirs to the thirteenth-century English document, the Magna Carta, which established the principles that no one is above the law (not even the King), and that no one can take away certain rights.
April 22 -- October 29, 2000 "Remember the ladies," Abigail Adams had admonished her husband when our forefathers wrote the Declaration of Independence. This advice was ignored not only by John Adams but also by many subsequent generations. Now, over 200 years later, we see an encouraging transformation toward equal rights for women and a new curiosity about women's history. A fascinating array of female personalities have shaped our American experience,106 of whom are featured in our exhibit. Our opening gallery showcases unforgettable women who represent many qualities worthy of our appreciation. Then journey through time as women's struggles and progress from colonial times to the present are told through historical narratives and short biographies.
"American Originals" is a changing exhibit that has presented the nation's greatest documentary treasures in the Rotunda of the National Archives Building since December 1995. Over the years, the exhibit has featured the first printing of the Declaration of Independence, the police blotter listing Abraham Lincoln's assassination, the first report of the Titanic's collision with an iceberg, Rosa Parks's arrest records, and many other items. Both famous and rare, these documents provide unique insights into the towering figures and events that have shaped U.S. history.
Here will be preserved all . . . the records that bind State to State and the hearts of all our people in an indissoluble union. --President Herbert Hoover, upon laying the cornerstone of the National Archives Building, February 20, 1933 American Originals presents some of the most treasured documents in the holdings of the National Archives. They have passed through the hands of George Washington, Helen Keller, Wyatt Earp, Napoleon, Rosa Parks, and John Hancock, connecting us physically to another moment in time. While some of the documents announce their own importance with a grand design, others quietly mark a revolution.
Here will be preserved all . . . the records that bind State to State and the hearts of all our people in an indissoluble union. --President Herbert Hoover, upon laying the cornerstone of the National Archives Building, February 20, 1933 In 1803 the young republic nearly doubles in size with the Louisiana Purchase. A casualty list of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment reveals the sacrifices of the most celebrated African-American regiment that fought in the Civil War. A police blotter lists the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, April 14, 1865.
The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire "There is practically nothing left..." “At 5:13 o’clock A.M. of this 18th day of April 1906 San Francisco and vicinity was visited with a most violent earthquake shock.” The clerk of the U.S. District Court of San Francisco wrote these words in the court minute book, explaining why court was adjourned that day. His note describes one of the most devastating natural disasters in the history of the United States.
History of Medicine Bacterial Genetics: 1946-58 His inquisitiveness, facility for establishing connections between scientific disciplines, and grasp of institutional strategy led Joshua Lederberg to the forefront of successive advances in science: molecular genetics in the 1940s and 1950s; the search for extraterrestrial life in the 1950s and 1960s; computers and artificial intelligence in the 1960s and 1970s. His discoveries in genetics produced a deeper understanding not only of the biochemical mechanism of inheritance and mutation in microorganisms, but of the evolution of diseases, the causes of drug resistance, and the possibilities of genetic engineering and gene therapy.
Last updated: 14 January 2009 The Loss and Recovery of Greek Medicine in the West After the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century, most works of the Greek physicians were lost to Western Europe. In the 14th and 15th centuries, however, Western Europeans began to rediscover Greek scientific and medical texts. This was due in part to the discovery of Arab repositories of learning in Spain and elsewhere during the Crusades as well as the immigration to Italy of Byzantine scholars at the fall of Constantinople in 1453.
Exhibition Directors' Statement The exhibition Emotions and Disease was initially developed by the History of Medicine Division of the National Library of Medicine, in conjunction with the Third International Congress of the International Society for Neuroimmunomodulation which met at the National Institutes of Health in November 1996. The exhibition was intended to provide historical perspective and context for the scientific discussions and presentations at the Congress and to explain to the general public the meaning and relevance of scientific developments linking neurophysiology to the functioning of our immune systems. Using the historical approach, we could make these sophisticated scientific developments more accessible to a non-specialist audience.
History of Medicine Introduction The history of medicine tells different stories and different truths depending on the questions we ask and the concerns we raise. That's why there is always something new in the past. This exhibition explores some of the multiple meanings people have found in the history of medicine within the United States. We see how, during the last two hundred years, the history of medicine has been created and used as weapon, as inspiration, as edifice, as politics, as profession, and as today's news. Physicians have used medical history to increase their understanding, to unify their profession, to develop a vision of the future of medicine, and to provide better medical care to their patients. History is like a kaleidoscope.
Display of Goya Prints Featured at the NLM Thirteen prints by Francisco Goya (1746-1828) , a Spanish painter who stands among the first modern artists, are on display at the National Library of Medicine. Although Goya held a position as court painter to Spain's King Charles IV, he often mocked the powerful in his paintings and satirized Spain's government and church. His depictions of hospital patients, torture chambers, the poor, and people in complex psychological states, transformed the unmentionable into fit subjects for art. Two of the works are first editions created by Goya, while the others are "restrikes" printed by others using Goya's original plates.
History of Medicine Introduction Medicine in the Americas is a digital library project that makes freely available original works demonstrating the evolution of American medicine from colonial frontier outposts of the 17th century to research hospitals of the 20th century. Drawing on the collections of NLM's History of Medicine Division and including works from the United States, Latin America, the Caribbean and Canada, this initial release of Medicine in the Americas encompasses monographs dating from 1610 to 1865. Additional titles, dating up to 1920 and drawing further upon NLM's comprehensive collection of early American printed books and journals, will be available on an ongoing basis in the future.
Discover the many ways that women have influenced and enhanced the practice of medicine. The individuals featured here provide an intriguing glimpse of the broader community of women doctors who are making a difference. The National Library of Medicine is pleased to present this exhibition honoring the lives and accomplishments of these women in the hope of inspiring a new generation of medical pioneers. This exhibition at the National Library of Medicine closed on November 19, 2005. Its traveling exhibition itinerary is available online. Please refer to "On Exhibit at NLM" on the Library's home page for information on the current exhibition on display at the Library. Perform your own customized database search to learn about the woman physicians featured in this exhibition.
The Donald S. Fredrickson Papers Donald Fredrickson (1924-2002) was an American physiologist and biomedical research leader who made significant contributions to medicine over the course of four decades. Fredrickson's system of classification of abnormalities in fat transport was adopted by the World Health Organization as an international standard for identifying increased risks of coronary artery disease linked to the consumption of fats and cholesterol. He also discovered two genetic diseases caused by disorders in lipid metabolism.
History of Medicine Introduction Over the ages, philosophers, theologians, and physicians had accepted insanity disorders within their purview. By the late 18th century, however, the first two had largely withdrawn and physicians, social activists, and the state took responsibility for the care and treatment of the mentally ill. Psychiatry as a medical discipline came into being during the first years of the 19th century. The rapidly growing population of the United States during the 19th century, along with an ever increasing number of immigrants, gave rise to the need for provision for the poor, the sick, and the mentally ill. Publicly supported almshouses and hospitals were established and the special needs of the mentally ill led to the era of asylums.
History of Medicine John Ballard Blake, Ph.D. Historian John Blake made significant contributions to the field of medical history. He was educated at Yale, BA, 1943, with Honors in History, Harvard, MA, 1947, and Ph.D., 1954, in American history. He was among the first generation of historians of medicine to come out of history departments, rather than clinical medicine, and he helped integrate the subject into the broader field of social history. His interests were primarily the history of public health in America and women’s history. His books and articles dealt with public health in 18th and early 19th century Boston, medicine in colonial America, and women and medicine in 19th century America.
Exhibition We, the living, instinctively recoil in the presence of death. Whether the deceased is a beloved, a friend, or a stranger, the shock of death's finality registers. When a life is unexpectedly extinguished, we need answers and seek the cause. Today, this need is addressed in police investigations, laboratories, courtrooms, and all of the venues in which scientific medicine interacts with the law—the field of forensics. Visible Proofs is about the history of forensic medicine. Over the centuries, physicians, surgeons, and other professionals have struggled to develop scientific methods that translate views of bodies and body parts into "visible proofs" that can persuade judges, juries, and the public.
History of Medicine The Man Stanley Jablonski said that he had a natural curiosity and that he liked to go into depth with things. With such a predisposition it’s no surprise that he developed into an accomplished, some say unequalled, indexer. Born in Poland, Jablonski eventually made his way to America. In 1949 he was hired by Claudius Mayer as an indexer in the Army Medical Library’s Bibliographic Services Division. Though he lacked the advanced education of most of his peers, Stanley excelled at his work and was rewarded with recognition and advancement. He could index medical literature in 10 languages. In 1955 he conceived a project to produce a bibliography of Slavic medical literature produced in the previous decade.
History of Medicine Rewriting the Book of Nature Charles Darwin and Evolutionary Theory Charles Darwin’s vision—“from so simple a beginning, endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being evolved”—now forms the foundation of the biological sciences. Radical in sweep, Darwin’s idea of naturally innovating and endlessly changing webs of life undercut all previous sciences. Darwin was instantly seen as a potent sign of a new science, a new way of conceiving the world. His theory was an immediate threat not just to those who were wedded to an older conception, but to all who relied on a given and settled order for meaning and for power.
History of Medicine Charlotte Perkins Gilman writing at her desk, ca. 1916-1922 Dr. S. Weir Mitchell, author and physician, 1906 Charlotte's doctor, nerve specialist Dr. S. Weir Mitchell, had built an eminent medical career working with soldiers injured during the Civil War. He then focused on the treatment of women with nervous exhaustion, devising a “rest cure” in which the patient was not allowed to read, write, feed herself, or talk to others.
History of Medicine Guide to Tropical Disease Motion Pictures and Audiovisuals Introduction The Tropical Disease Motion Picture and Audiovisual Collection is comprised of films, videorecordings, and digital videocasts produced from the 1920s through 2009, with the majority shot prior to the 1960s. All are devoted to health concerns and include material on medicine and public health. Materials range from ideological, documentary, educational, and training films to American war propaganda. The intended audience is diverse and includes military personnel, health professionals, and the general public.
