LibGuides: Medicine in Durham and Duke University: Medicine at Duke

Resources at Duke

Artifacts

The History of Medicine artifacts collection includes medical instruments, pharmaceutical cases, anatomical models and figurines; and other objects such as apothecary jars, cupping glasses, infant feeders, a bas-relief memento mori, and fetish figures. There are many models of microscopes and stethoscopes, dating from the 17th to the 20th century.

Online Exhibits

Duke Medical Center Archives - Women in Duke Medicine
An online exhibit highlighting women in Duke Medicine, including oral histories. The exhibit shares the stories of individual women and to also go deeper into the context in which those stories took place.
What Does Your Doctor Know? Exploring the History of Physician Education from Early Greek Theory to the Practice of Duke Medicine.
This exhibition highlights the transformation of physician education over time, from the days of ancient Greece through the establishment and evolution of Duke’s Medical School.
Early Studies in Parapsychology at Duke
Online exhibit examining The early work of The Parapsychology Laboratory led by Drs. J.B. and Louisa Rhine at Duke University in Durham. In the thirty-five years of experimental research that the Parapsychology Laboratory conducted at Duke, many topics we associate with the paranormal were investigated, including extrasensory perception (ESP), telepathy, clairvoyance, pre-cognition, and psychokinesis.
Animated Anatomies: The Human Body in Anatomical Texts from the 16th to 21st Centuries.
Animated Anatomies explores the visually stunning and technically complex genre of printed texts and illustrations known as anatomical flap books.

Librarian

Roger Peña

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Searching the Catalog

The History of Medicine Collections at the Rubenstein Library contains over 20,000 rare print items including books and journals. This collection also has materials related to the history of medicine at Duke University. Please use the online catalog to search for items related to your research topic or interest.

Helpful Search Terms may include:

Duke University hospital
Duke University medicine
Duke University Medical School
Duke surgery
Duke physicians

*Image of Josiah C. Trent, '34, surgeon and collector of rare books and materials related to the history of surgery and Western medicine.

Manuscript Collections

Bailey Daniel Webb papers, 1845-2003
Early female graduate of Duke University School of Medicine (M.D., 1946) and pediatrician in private practice in Durham Co., N.C., 1949-1987. Also includes Webb's 1941 doctoral thesis and other school records (1925-1933); as well as binders and scrapbooks compiled by Webb detailing her youth and schooling, private practice and hospital career, international trips, Durham history, chiefly in community medicine and governance, and various ancestors and relatives.
Eva J. Salber Papers, 1937-1990 and undated; (bulk 1967-1990)
Physician and professor of community and family medicine. Correspondence, speeches, writings, clippings, photographs and printed materials related to Salber's extensive carer in the community health field. Particularly highlighted is her research concerning smoking in school children and the elderly in rural communities and her positions with the Martha Eliot Center in Boston and the Duke University Medical Center. Also included are background materials (tapes, transcripts, and photographs) for her two books, The Mind is Not the Heart and Don't Send Me Flowers When I'm Dead (1983).
Department of Chemistry records, 1924-1975
The records of the Duke University Department of Chemistry comprise large file groups of correspondence, students records, personnel policies, meeting minutes and memoranda, student research lab notebooks, and other items that relate to the history of this department, among the oldest in the University. Records include items relating to faculty member Paul M. Gross, who was a professor of Chemistry (1919-1965), and Chair of the Chemistry Department (1921-1948).
Leonard J. Goldwater papers, 1970s
Leonard J. Goldwater was a professor of medicine at Columbia and Duke Universities. He specialized in occupational medicine, working for the New York State Department of Labor and the United States Navy in the 1930s and 1940s, and founding the Bellevue Hospital cardiac rehabilitation clinic in the 1950s. Goldwater came to the Duke Medical Center in 1970, where he ran the occupational medicine program.
William J. and Leslie Sands Williams Papers, 1930s-1990s
Dr. William J. Williams and his wife, Irene Leslie Sands Williams, a nurse, were Southern Baptist medical missionaries stationed at Ogbomosho Baptist Hospital, Nigeria from 1944 through 1984. The couple also worked in Gaza and Kurdistan, and were active in several Baptist churches in the United States. This collection contains their diaries, photographs, correspondence, and other items documenting their work and family life as Christians, medical personnel, and educators.
Richard Payne papers, 1980-2020
Dr. Richard Payne (1951-2019) was a physician and researcher known for his work in pain management, palliative care, bioethics, neuro-oncology, medicine and spirituality, and end-of-life issues for African-Americans. The collection consists of his professional materials, writings and presentations, academic materials, personal materials, and medical objects.

Duke Medical Archives Collections

Selected manuscript collections from Duke's Medical Center Archives. The Medical Center Archives is separate from the Rubenstein Library and collects the official records of DUMC and DUHS departments and divisions. Visit their website to locate additional materials and find details on accessing to their collections.

Eleanor B. Easley Papers, 1928-2000
Dr. Easley was the first female graduate of Duke's School of Medicine's first four-year class. In 1941, Easley helped co-found the Durham Women's Clinic. Types of materials include notes from talks and presentations, short writings, meeting minutes, agendas, articles, reports, photographs, correspondence, memberships, degrees, awards, and clippings.
Shirley K. Osterhout Papers, 1966-2004
Contains the professional papers of Shirley K. Osterhout, former medical director of Duke University Poison Control Center and assistant dean of medical education of Duke University Medical Center. Materials include correspondence, clippings, programs, handwritten notes, 35mm slides, a syllabus, a negative, a photograph, and educational materials, such as brochures, posters, reprints, and pamphlets. Major subjects include poisoning prevention and safety measures, treatment of poisoning, and Duke University Poison Control Center. Materials date from 1966 to 2004.
School of Nursing Records, 1930-2017
Contains the administrative records of the Duke University School of Nursing, School of Nursing Alumni Association, and other nursing student associations Types of materials include correspondence, minutes, newsletters, budgets, evaluations, reports, class records, proceedings, publications, awards, photographs, ephemera, scrapbooks, printed materials, and clippings.
Donna Allen Harris Interview, 2008
Donna Allen Harris was the first African-American to graduate from the Duke University School of Nursing. Major subjects in this interview include Harris's experiences integrating the school system in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, and her time at the Duke University School of Nursing.
Kathryn Ann Decker Nursing Memorabilia, 1941-1947
Kathryn Ann Decker graduated from the Duke University School of Nursing in 1943 and was a member of the Duke Student Reserve for the American Red Cross. This collection contains news clippings, newsletters, Duke bulletins, and an alumni register collected by Kathryn Ann Decker during her time as a student, as well as after her graduation. A major subject of the materials is Duke student and alumni service in the United States Armed Forces.
Watts School of Nursing Records, 1975-2013
Watts School of Nursing, formerly Watts Hospital Training School for Nurses, is North Carolina's oldest nursing school, established by George W. Watts in 1895. Types of materials include nursing student composites from 1975 to 2013, photographs of Watts Hospital, and a certificate.

Medicine in Durham and Duke University