The Institutional Records of
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Brief History of the School of Medicine
Scope of the Records
Record Group 1. Founding Documents
Record Group 2. Advisory Board of
the Medical Faculty and Committees
Record Group 3. Office of the Dean of
the Medical Faculty
Record Group 4. Office of the
Registrar
Record Group 5. Academic Departments
Record Group 6. Publications
Brief History of
the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine opened its doors
for students in 1893. During the previous ten years a top notch faculty
had been assembled including Ira Remsen, H. Newell Martin, John Shaw
Billings, Franklin P. Mall, William Welch, William Osler, William S.
Halsted, and Howard A. Kelly. The latter four in particular dominated
the School of Medicine during its formative period.
From the beginning Hopkins set standards which other medical schools
followed. Hopkins was the first medical school in the United States
to make the college degree a requirement of admission. For the first
time all professors in the preclinical branches served on a full-time
university basis. Thereafter in medical schools all over the country,
medical education became a major concern instead of being largely
a proprietary business conducted for profit.
Curriculum advances included extensive intern and residency training
and the creation of full-time clinical departments. Students at Hopkins
became an integral part of the staff of the Johns Hopkins Hospital,
learning largely by actual participation in patient care rather than
by attendance at lectures. They also participated in research activities
in the laboratories and clinics under the supervision of members of
the faculty.
Scope of the Records
Many of the important administrative records of the Johns Hopkins
University School of Medicine have survived. The School of Medicine
Archive includes founding documents, plus records of the chief administrative
body of the Medical School, the Advisory Board of the Medical Faculty.
In addition, there are extensive records from the Office of the Dean
including financial ledgers. While many departmental records have not
remained intact, it is important to note that the Medical Archives
also collects the personal papers of the faculty and staff of the Medical
Institutions. Together the archival records and personal papers present
a complete picture of the development of medical education at Hopkins.
Record Group
1. Founding Documents.
Johns Hopkins, a Baltimore merchant, bequeathed $7 million for the
establishment of a university and hospital in Baltimore, Maryland.
In 1867 the University was incorporated and in 1876 instruction began.
Between 1876 and 1893 when the Medical School opened, Daniel Coit Gilman,
the first president of the Johns Hopkins University, took steps to
lay the educational foundation of the School of Medicine. In 1879 Gilman
wrote to eminent British medical men to learn their thoughts on improving
medical education. From this preliminary medical survey Gilman received
letters, reports and publications on medical studies, which he used
in developing a strong preliminary medical education course in the
undergraduate curriculum. The opening of the Medical School, delayed
because of a lack of funds, would have been forced further into the
future had it not been for the efforts of a group of prominent Baltimore
women desiring to promote medical education for women in the United
States. Led by Mary Elizabeth Garrett who contributed $354,764, they
organized a national Women’s Fund Campaign and raised $500,000
to guarantee the admission of women to Hopkins. They further insisted
that Hopkins establish a medical school of high standards requiring
a bachelor’s degree representing specific attainments in chemistry,
biology, physics, German and French. The Hopkins University Trustees
accepted this money with its conditions and immediately prepared to
admit the school’s first class.
The documents in this record group cover the period between the incorporation
of the University and the opening of the Medical School and consist
of records of Gilman’s Preliminary Medical Survey and the Women’s
Medical Fund Committee.
Record Group 2. Records of the Advisory
Board of the Medical Faculty and Committees.
From its opening in 1893, the primary decision making authority at
the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine has been the Advisory
Board of the Medical Faculty. It reports to the Trustees of the University
and it is in charge of the educational policies of the Medical School.
Its membership consists of the heads of the major departments of instruction.
The Board has standing committees of the faculty or staff which vary
from time to time according to changing functional needs. The Dean
of the Medical Faculty is the administrative officer of the Advisory
Board.
Record Group 3. Office of
the Dean of the Medical Faculty.
The principal administrative officer of the School of Medicine is
the Dean of the Medical Faculty. The Dean is in charge of academic
affairs as well as administrator of the budget. These records include
budget ledgers, correspondence and related material. Deans of the Johns
Hopkins University School of Medicine:
William H. Welch, 1893-1898
William Osler, 1898-1899
William H. Howell, 1899-1911
J. Whitridge Williams, 1911-1923
Lewis H. Weed, 1923-1929
Alan M. Chesney, 1929-1953
Philip Bard, 1953-1957
Thomas B. Turner, 1957-1968
David E. Rogers, 1968-1971
Russell H. Morgan, 1971-1975
Richard S. Ross, 1975-1990
Record Group 4. Office of the Registrar.
This record group contains records relating directly to students at
the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. These include applications
for admission, examination records, class standings and grades, and
student records from the class of 1897 through the class of 1950.
Record Group 5. Academic Departments.
This record group contains records of a few of the many academic departments
of the Medical School. Unfortunately, most of these records have not
survived intact. Since many of the departments were directed by the
same individuals over a long period of years, much of the history of
the various departments may be found in the personal papers of the
early medical faculty/hospital staff.
Record Group 6. Publications.
This record group contains the catalogues of the Johns Hopkins University
School of Medicine from the founding dates to the present. In addition,
there is a bound volume of Reports of the Dean of the Medical Faculty,
1929-1953 and other miscellaneous pamphlets relating to the Medical
School.
This series contains pamphlets relating to medical education in general
and Hopkins in particular. Included are Henry Acland, “Medical
Education”, 1879; Simon Flexner, “The Education and Organization
of the University Clinic.” 1939; a government report on the status
of medical education, 1957; the class of 1915's 25th reunion, 1940;
a list of Henry Strong Denison scholars and their articles, 1937-1969;
a book commemorating the 50th anniversary of the opening of the medical
school; pamphlets by the half-century committee on the history of The
Johns Hopkins University; a brochure on the Johns Hopkins building
program, 1925; miscellaneous reprints from the medical faculty arranged
by department; a ledger of accounts of the Journal of Experimental
Medicine covering the period 1897-1905.
