McGill Library
McLennan Library Building3459 rue McTavish
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H3A 0C9
Letter to A.R. Neligan
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1 page
A major figure in modern medical history, Sir William Osler is well known as a scientific researcher, a great medical pedagogue, a humanist, and an advocate for a patient-centered approach to medicine.
Born in Bond Head, Ontario, in 1849, Osler earned his medical degree at McGill University, and later taught at McGill's Faculty of Medicine from 1874 until 1884. Osler then joined the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, where he was appointed Chair of Clinical Medicine before becoming Physician-in-Chief and one of the "Big Four" founders of Johns Hopkins Hospital and medical school in Baltimore – the first school of its kind to train medical students in a modern residency program. Osler finished his career as Regius Professor of Medicine at Oxford University, where he also devoted time to his passion for book collecting. His library of nearly eight thousand rare and historic works of the history of medicine and science is known as the Bibliotheca Osleriana, documented by a published catalogue of the same title.
Sir William Osler was knighted in 1911 in recognition of his contributions to medical science and teaching. His library of 7600 volumes on the history of medicine and science bequeathed to McGill University forms the nucleus of the present Osler Library of the History of Medicine. His life and contributions to medicine are described in detail in the Pulitzer-Prize winning biography "Life of Sir William Osler" (London: Oxford University Press, 1925) by Harvey Cushing.
Letter to A.R. Neligan from William Osler. Osler has received the official sanction of the Persian Government and can now proceed with his plan to restore the Tomb of Avicenna at Hamadan. He suggests that the General Committee in England in charge of overseeing the project should be made up of Norman Moore, Professors Brown and Margoliouth, and Dr. Cowley. Members from France should include the President of the Academy of Medicine, the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, as well as the President and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Algiers. Osler will act as the Secretary of the General Committee and asks Neligan to serve as the Secretary of the Local Committee in Persia.
Fragile.
Copy or transcription.
Cushing's colour code: Yellow (Information on books)