Call Number:

ACC2045

Repository:

Temple University Libraries Special Collections Research Center

Extent:

10.9 linear feet

Language:

English

Date:

1899-1971

Abstract:

Dr. W. Wayne Babcock spent most of his illustrious career at the Temple University Medical School, where he came in 1903 at the request of Russell Conwell, university president. Babcock remained the head of the Dept. of Surgery for 40 years prior to retiring in 1943. Babcock published over 300 articles, as well as a textbook on surgery for physicians and students, in 1928. Babcock's most notable contribution to the field was his introduction of steel wire sutures and spinal anesthesia. In 1947 Babcock received the Master Surgeon Award from the International College of Physicians & Surgeons, and in 1954 the AMA presented him with the Distinguished Service Medal.

The papers of this nationally prominent Philadelphia surgeon and medical educator include manuscripts, lectures, speeches, correspondence, photographs, reports, case files, awards, journal articles, audio tapes, and account books. The case histories and account books provide documentation of his treatment of disease and his relationship with his patients. The collection documents Babcock's contributions to the surgical profession and his relationship to the American Medical Association, the International College of Physicians & Surgeons, and the Babcock Surgical Society. There is a small amount of correspondence created by his wife Marion. There is a small batch of letters to Dr. and Mrs. Babcock from Fred H. Bloomhardt (a fellow surgeon from Philadelphia) from his time in France during World War I. The collection also includes photographs from annual meetings and dinners.