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Sir William Osler and Lady Osler letters

 Collection — Folder: 1
Identifier: MSS 446

Scope and Contents note

This collection consists of six letters to Sir William and Lady Osler, written in 1917. The letters are from Major Vivian A. Batchelor, Dr. Harvey Cushing, and Dr. G.E. Brewer, and others. The letters mainly discuss the circumstances of the death of the Osler's son, who was killed in Belgium during World War I. One letter is manuscript and the others are typed transcripts.

Dates

  • 1917

Conditions Governing Access note

The collection is open for research.

Biographical/Historical note

Sir William Osler, 1st Baronet (1849-1919) was a Canadian-born physician. He has been described as the Father of Modern Medicine. Osler received his M.D. from McGill University in Montreal in 1872. Following postgraduate training in Europe, Osler returned to McGill University as a professor in 1874. In 1884 he was appointed Chair of Clinical Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and the following year, was one of the founding members of the Association of American Physicians. Osler became the first chief of staff at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore in 1889, and in 1893 one of the first professors of medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. In 1905 he was appointed to the Regius Chair of Medicine at Oxford, which he held until his death. Osler was created a baronet in 1911 for his many contributions to the field of medicine.

Lady Grace Revere Gross Osler (1855-1928) was born in Boston into a prominent family descended from Paul Revere. In 1876 she married Dr. Samuel W. Gross, a physician and instructor at Jefferson Medical College. Osler worked at the University of Pennsylvania and was friendly with the Grosses. Dr. Gross died in 1889 and Grace and William Osler married in 1892. Their son Edward Revere was born in 1895. Lady Osler was known for her hospitality, and worked with wounded soldiers and refugees during World War I. She spent the last years of her life overseeing the cataloging of Sir Osler’s library and preparing it for donation to McGill University.

Extent

0.08 linear feet

Language of Materials

English

Physical Location

Small Collections

Immediate Source of Acquisition note

The letters to Sir William Osler and Lady Osler were donated to the Historical Medical Library of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia by Dr. Stephen Wartella in 2001. The collection was processed in 2022.
Title
Sir William Osler and Lady Osler letters 1917 2001-008
Status
Completed
Date
2012
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English
Sponsor
This collection-level EAD record is a product of the Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collections Libraries (PACSCL) Consortial Survey Initiative, which was funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Revision Statements

  • 2022: The collection was processed and finding aid revised.

Repository Details

Part of the Historical Medical Library of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia Repository

Contact:
19 S. 22nd Street
Philadelphia PA 19103 United States