McGill Library
McLennan Library Building3459 rue McTavish
Montreal, Quebec
H3A 0C9
Letter to William Osler, October 6, 1972
Item
2 pages
Dr. Howard, of Montreal, received his medical degree from McGill University in 1848. Following graduation, he studied in Dublin, London, Edinburgh, and Paris. He returned to Montreal in 1849 and commenced medical practice. In 1851, he began teaching Chemistry at St. Lawrence School of Medicine. Dr. Howard joined the staffs of the McGill Faculty of Medicine and the Montreal General Hospital in 1852. In 1858, he was elected Chairman of the Medical Board of the General Hospital, a post he held for thirty years. By 1860, he had achieved one of the senior chairs at McGill, the Professorship of the Theory of Medicine, which he held until his death. Dr. Howard served as Dean of the Faculty from 1882-1889. William Osler was a pupil of Dr. Howard's during his studies at McGill. Osler never forgot his debt to Dr. Howard and he never lost an opportunity to express his admiration and affection for his former teacher. When the McIntyre Medical Sciences Building was officially opened in 1966, its largest amphitheatre was named in memory of Robert Palmer Howard.
Letter to William Osler from Robert Palmer Howard, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Howard knows that Osler would have preferred to teach Practical Physiology than Botany. He hopes Osler understands that the offer of the Chair of Botany was made by McGill in an attempt to develop a connection between Osler and the University. McGill is so poor and needy that it could not fund a lectureship in Practical Physiology at present. He advises Osler to concentrate on general practice and to obtain a degree from the F.R.C.S. in Edinburgh.
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Copy or transcription.
Cushing's colour code: White (Correspondence)