McGill Library
McLennan Library Building3459 rue McTavish
Montreal, Quebec
H3A 0C9
Wilder Penfield Diary, Jan 1957 to April 1958
File
1.7 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 the diary of Wilder Penfield for January 1957 to April 1958. The inside cover is inscribed with “To Daddy, Happy birthday Jan 26th 1957. This is to keep a diary of your trip to India with love, Wilder + Berry”. The diary details Wilder Penfield’s travels to India and surrounding areas such as Thailand. This includes reflections on the event of his birthday, and comments on the local culture, including drawings. To note is that the printed dates of the diary are not used and there are some loose pages.