Harvard School of Public Health. Department of Physiology records
Overview
The Harvard School of Public Health Department of Physiology records, 1917-1956 (inclusive), are the product of departmental activities. The bulk of the materials were created by Cecil K. Drinker in the course of his duties as Chair of the Department of Physiology.
Dates
- Creation: 1917-1956 (inclusive)
Creator
- Drinker, Cecil Kent, 1887-1956. (Person)
Language of Materials
Records are in English
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research. Access requires advance notice.
Access to patient, personnel, and student information is restricted for 80 years from the date of creation. These restrictions appear in Series 00871. Researchers may apply for access to restricted records. Consult Public Services for further information.
Conditions Governing Use
The Harvard Medical Library does not hold copyright on all materials in the collection. Researchers are responsible for identifying and contacting any third-party copyright holders for permission to reproduce or publish. For more information on the Center's use, publication, and reproduction policies, view our Reproductions and Use Policy.
Extent
6.88 cubic feet (5 records center cartons, 1 oversized box)The Harvard School of Public Health Department of Physiology records, 1917-1956 (inclusive), are the product of departmental activities, primarily consisting of materials created by Cecil K. Drinker in the course of his duties as Chair of the Department of Physiology from 1923 to 1948. The papers are arranged in two series: I. Executive correspondence, 1917-1951; II. Subject resource files, 1919-1956.
Executive correspondence (Series I) consists of letters and related records primarily generated by Cecil K. Drinker in his position as Chair of the Department of Physiology. Material types include correspondence, program files, reports, and budgets. Topics include establishment and development of academic programs.
Subject resource files (Series II) consists of account books and publications produced by the Department of Physiology and the Laboratory of Applied Physiology. Topics of publications include the design of respiratory equipment, zinc toxicity, and chemical analysis of blood and urine.
Records are in English.
Administrative History
The Department of Physiology was founded in 1924 at the Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts. Students studied topics including respiration, circulation, fatigue and repair, and hearing and vision. The Department was previously known as the Department of Applied Physiology.
Founded in 1913, the Harvard School of Public Health did not have formal departments until the early 1920s. Prior to that, courses were grouped together by general topic. In 1922, the Laboratories of Physiology contained the Department of Physiology, the Department of Applied Physiology, the Department of Comparative Physiology, and the Department of Physical Chemistry. The next year these departments were consolidated as the Department of Applied Physiology. In 1924, the department was renamed as the Department of Physiology. In 1983, the Department of Physiology merged with the Department of Environmental Health Sciences and the Department of Sanitary Engineering to become the Department of Environmental Sciences and Physiology. The department was renamed the Department of Environmental Health in 1991.
Alfred C. Redfield (1890-1983) was chair of the department under the name Laboratories of Physiology. Chairs of the department under the name Department of Physiology were Cecil K. Drinker (1887-1956, chair 1923-1948), James L. Whittenberger (1914-2007, chair 1948-1980), and John B. Little (1929-2020, chair 1980-1982). Note that Drinker also served as Assistant Dean of the Harvard School for Public Health from 1924 to 1935 and dean from 1935 to 1942. During World War II, the department received grants to research protective respiratory equipment for war use.
Collection Arrangement
- I. Executive correspondence, 1917-1951 (inclusive)
- II. Subject resource files, 1919-1956 (inclusive)
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The collection was transferred to the Harvard Medical Library by the Harvard School of Public Health, Department of Physiology.
- Accession number 2022-041. Harvard School of Public Health. Department of Physiology. Date unknown.
- Accession number 2022-042. Harvard School of Public Health. Department of Physiology. Date unknown.
Processing Information
Processed by Rebecca Thayer, August 2023.
These materials were originally part of the Early School of Public Health records (E72). E72 records were cataloged according to an in-house catalog number system. These catalog numbers and any additional information on the card have been retained where they exist and are located in the file-level scope notes. Defunct box inventories have not been retained in the file-level scope note, but the original cards are retained at the repository. Processing was done by Hanna Clutterbuck-Cook in 2019, 2021 and 2022. Clutterbuck-Cook refoldered and reboxed material and transcribed folder titles from original folders which were then discarded. Original folder titles were retained unless they were determined to be unduly repetitive; for example, “Department of Physiology” has been removed from folder titles. In cases where the title of an item on the card catalog card differed from the original folder title, the card catalog title was appended to the beginning of the original folder title. Clutterbuck-Cook and Heather Mumford identified and created office codes and records series for E72. Clutterbuck-Cook arranged the materials accordingly. Clutterbuck-Cook and Mumford conducted research on the department and its history to draft a finding aid. Additional surveying was done in 2023 by Thayer. Thayer separated out and arranged the Department of Physiology records. Thayer also interfiled materials originally collected as part of an E72 vertical file (designated by the word "file" after the call number). Thayer finished the finding aid.
Creator
- Drinker, Cecil Kent, 1887-1956. (Person)
Subject
- Harvard School of Public Health (Organization)
- Title
- Harvard School of Public Health. Department of Physiology. Records, 1917-1956 (inclusive): Finding Aid.
- Author
- Rebecca Thayer
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- eng
- EAD ID
- med01006
Repository Details
Part of the Center for the History of Medicine (Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine) Repository
The Center for the History of Medicine in the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine is one of the world's leading resources for the study of the history of health and medicine. Our mission is to enable the history of medicine and public health to inform healthcare, the health sciences, and the societies in which they are embedded.