Introduction
This correspondence collection extends from 1869 to 1934. A glance at
the finding guide shows that Welch maintained correspondence with individual friends over
long periods of time. For example, the collection includes an exchange of letters with two
of his Yale classmates, Fredric S. Dennis and Dwight W. Learned, that spans nearly 70
years from the 1860’s to 1933. He corresponded with members of the Flexner family,
Abraham, Simon, Helen, and William Welch Flexner (Welch's grandnephew) from 1889 and 1934.
Much of this correspondence includes references to medical and scientific advances and to
news of family and friends.
The collection contains many letters from his contemporaries at Johns
Hopkins, including Alan Mason Chesney, Henry Hurd, Franklin P. Mall, William Osler,
Raymond Pearl, and Henry Phipps. Other letters are from famous medical figures of the
time, including Harvey Cushing, L. Emmett Holt, William H. Howell, Arnold Klebs, and
George Whipple. Welch and Henry Barton Jacobs wrote to each other about medicine and
medical history over a 33-year period from 1899 to 1932. Because of Welch’s extensive
travels and interest in medicine overseas, he had correspondence with many physicians
abroad, including Arthur Newsholme and George H. F. Nuttall in England, Albert A. Ebstein
in Germany, Aldo Castellani in Italy, and K. Miyairi and others in Japan.
John D. Rockefeller Jr., and Welch corresponded from 1907 to 1925, and the collection
contains much material from those associated with the Rockefeller Foundation, including
Frederick Gates and Rufus Cole. This correspondence reflects many features of Welch’s
character, including his loyalty, his scholarship, and the energy of his enthusiasm and
interest in others.
Click on images to see enlargements
Sample Letters
Welch's Letter of Appointment
From Daniel Coit Gilman, President of Johns Hopkins University, informing Welch of his
nomination by Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees to the appointment of
Professorship of Pathology, April 8, 1884. (Box 20, F 22)
President Gilman wrote "I enclose an official note, - but I must
add personally that our action is hearty, unanimous and earnest. You must come. You
may be sure of a personal and social welcome, as hearty as your official call." March
15, 1884. (Box 20 F 22)
Letter to Franklin P. Mall, [copy] July 30 1885.
Click on image for full text.
Detail from letter.
Welch writes, "I would advise you to select a theme which will
enable you to become familiar with the most useful physiological manipulations, such as
the use of the kymographion, recording of blood pressure measurements, the use of the
induction battery etc. I do not believe that you will ever regret the time you give to
experimental physiological work. It opens up quite a new perspective in medicine."
In this letter, of Nov. 24, 1895, Welch reminds his colleague,
Alexander C. Abott, of the University of Pennsylvania, of the soon to be published, Journal
of Experimental Medicine. The journal, of which Welch was founding editor, did
commence the following year, and is still in publication.
Letter from William Osler, August 28, 1919.
Click on image for full text of letter.
William Osler queries Welch about the possibility of approaching the Rockefeller Board
for funding to "help McGill start up-to-date clinics in Medicine + Surgery?".
Detail from letter to Eugene Opie, March 15, 1921
Click on image for full text of letter.
Letter to Eugene Opie, regarding the etiology of the influenza epidemic.
From a letter to Howard A. Kelly,
February 20, 1933.
Click on image for full text of letter.
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