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News from the Archive

Colonel Bates: enemy of the Klan

By Philip Montgomery Head of McGovern Historical Center Yesterday, Colonel William B. Bates and his role in moving Baylor College of Medicine from Dallas to Houston came up in a conversation with Bryant Boutwell, the John P. McGovern Professor of Oslerian Medicine, at the UT Health Science Center-Houston. Boutwell, an historian and author, described how… Continue Reading Colonel Bates: enemy of the Klan […]

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Dr. Cooley's Eisenhower jacket

By Philip Montgomery Head of McGovern Historical Center Today, Dena Houchin, RN, dropped off several of Dr. Denton Cooley’s old military uniforms, including pants, shirts and an Eisenhower jacket,  along with his Johns Hopkins University academic regalia robe, hood and hat. The Johns Hopkins regalia is pretty snazzy, but it was the Eisenhower jacket that… Continue Reading Dr. Cooley's Eisenhower jacket […]

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Railway Surgery

By Philip Montgomery Head of McGovern Historical Center The McGovern Rare Book Collection just added a book on treating railway injuries published in 1899. Dr. Clinton B. Herrick’s “Railway Surgery: a handbook on the management of injuries” is quite an interesting book. The library’s resource management assistant Mireille Clark discovered the book in the stacks… Continue Reading Railway Surgery […]

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Cross species applicability of psychiatric diagnosis and treatment (1969)

Alethea Drexler, archives assistant I found this recently on the back of an article saved in MS159, the Dr. Herbert Fred papers (it’s crossed out because it wasn’t the item of interest). British Medical Journal, volume 299, 23-30 December 1969, page 1569. Scientists will note that one subject is not a valid sample size, but… Continue Reading Cross species applicability of psychiatric diagnosis and treatment (1969) […]

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The goat-gland doctor of Del Rio

By Philip Montgomery Head of McGovern Historical Center John Richard Brinkley (1885-1942) was best known as the notorious goat-gland doctor. He made his reputation and his millions of dollars by performing xenotransplants. He inserted goat testicles into the scrotum of human males to increase their virility. He also inserted goat glands into women to cure… Continue Reading The goat-gland doctor of Del Rio […]

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Houston Archives Bazaar!

The McGovern Historical Center will be at the Houston Archives Bazaar at the White Oak Music Hall on Sunday, September 10th from 2pm – 6pm. We’ll have some collection materials, and we’re looking forward to sharing them with the community. For more details you can go to https://houstonarchivists.org/bazaar/. Hope to see you there! […]

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McGovern Historical Center Closed

Due to the flooding in the area the McGovern Historical Center will be closed until further notice. Philip Montgomery, Head of the McGovern Historical Center, visited the facility at 8272 El Rio this morning, August 29, 2017. He reports that there was no rain or wind damage and no noticeable power interruptions. All collection materials… Continue Reading McGovern Historical Center Closed […]

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Mad for Mading: A Glimpse Into the Past of Public Health

Snapshot of books on shelf from Mading Collection

Keya Gokhale Special Collections Intern Are you a current public health student or researcher? Do you just love old books? Come check out the Mading collection at the McGovern Historical Center! It is a one-stop shop for information regarding the worldwide history of public health. It has works dating back as far as 1767, all… Continue Reading Mad for Mading: A Glimpse Into the Past of Public Health […]

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