McGill Library
McLennan Library Building3459 rue McTavish
Montreal, Quebec
H3A 0C9
Miscellaneous Correspondence
File
1 cm of textual records
Born in Spokane, Washington, Wilder Penfield received his B.Litt. from Princeton University in 1913 and was a Rhodes Scholar in Oxford (B.A.1916). He received his M.D. from Johns Hopkins in 1918. Studying under Sir Charles Sherrington at Oxford, Penfield became interested in the brain. From 1921 to 1928 he engaged in research and neurosurgery at the Presbyterian Hospital and served on the Medical Faculty of Columbia University. Appointed to the Medical Faculty of McGill University in 1928, he was Chairman of the Department of Neurological Surgery from 1934 to 1960. An endowment from the Rockefeller Foundation enabled him to establish the Montreal Neurological Institute (M.N.I.), which opened in 1934. At the M.N.I. Penfield made many innovations in neurosurgery including a surgical treatment for epilepsy. He devoted much of his research to the study of the physiology of the brain, speech memory and sensation. Besides his numerous scientific publications, Penfield wrote two novels and participated in a large number of professional organizations. Dr. Penfield was a member of the Board of Curators of the Osler Library.
The file contains miscellaneous correspondence to and from Wilder Penfield including maintenance (doors, contracts, operations, storage); research activities (animals, sea-sickness training); daily operations (issues, costs, payments, mail); teaching (course materials, course changes); publicity in the lay press; committees; issues with the stadium entrance; the UNESCO Questionnaire on Canadian institutions devoted to research on the brain; the presentation of the illuminated resolution from the members of the Board of Governors of McGill University; federal and provincial responsibility towards research in the health fields; donations; and the opening of the McConnell Wing. In addition, there is a letter about the forwarding of Montreal Neurological Institute Annual Reports for R.C. Fetherstonhaugh’s use in his history of McGill University.