Eugene L. Opie by unidentified photographer; black and white photograph, c.1903.

Collection Summary 

Creator
Opie, Eugene Lindsay

Dates
5 Jul 1873-12 Mar 1971

Institutional Affiliation(s)
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
1898-1904 

Date Range of Collection
1894-1955

Volume of Collection
2 linear feet

Biography

Eugene L. Opie was born in Staunton, Virginia. He received his A.B. in 1893 from the Johns Hopkins University and his M.D. as a member of the first graduating class of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1897. Opie was a member of the faculty of the school of medicine from 1898 until 1904, when he joined the Rockefeller Institute. In 1910, he left the Rockefeller Institute to join the pathology faculty at Washington University Medical School in St. Louis. He remained there until 1923, serving as dean from 1912 until 1915. In 1932, Opie became professor of pathology at Cornell Medical School, and in 1940 he returned to the Rockefeller Institute to concentrate on research. While at Johns Hopkins, Opie published on malaria research and the causes of diabetes. He demonstrated that the islets of Langerhans were involved in the development of diabetes in humans and identified two forms of parasite (hyaline and granular) in crow malaria. After leaving Hopkins, Opie embarked on research in immunology and carcinogenesis, the development of obstruction of the pancreatic duct, and tuberculosis. He remained active in research well into his nineties. 

Scope and Content

The Eugene L. Opie Collection spans much of his medical career. It contains lecture notes as well as research and autopsy notes. Opie took extensive notes on lectures he attended while a student at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine from 1894 to 1897. These notes are in four volumes: 1)Bacteriology and Pathology, 2) Pathology, 3)Medicine Surgery, and 4) Obstetrics. The lecturers include William Osler, William Halsted, Howard A. Kelly, William H. Welch, William S. Thayer, Simon Flexner, John Whitridge Williams, and Thomas S. Cullen. The two volumes of autopsy notes (1895-1908) mainly concern diabetes and pancreatic pathology. They are indexed by patient number. Another volume of notes is labeled Diabetes; these appear to be notes on published experiments. An undated manuscipt, Adoption of Standards of the Best Medical Schools of Western Europe by Those of the United States includes photographs and concerns the history of the medical schools of St. Louis, Missouri. The text discusses Opie's appointment and refers to other individuals at the Washington University School of Medicine with ties to Johns Hopkins. There is also correspondence (1954-1955) with Alan M. Chesney.

Policy on Access and Use

This collection may contain some restricted records. Materials pertaining to patients, students, employees, and human research subjects, as well as unprocessed collections and recent administrative records, carry restrictions on access. For more information about the policies and procedures for access, see Policy on Access and Use.

When citing material from this collection, credit The Alan Mason Chesney Medical Archives of The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. For permission to reproduce images, contact the holder of the copyright.

For permissions contact:
archives@jhmi.edu
 

Copyright © 1999

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