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"Remarkable vascular tumour of the neck"
John Collins Warren's notes on the etherization and surgical operation on Gilbert Abbott, October 1846.
Photograph of Otto Krayer
A photograph of Otto Krayer seated at his desk.
Photograph of Arthur T. Hertig
A photograph of Arthur T. Hertig, October 1967
Oral History Interview with Grant V. Rodkey, MD, Boston Medical Library Oral History Project
Oral history interview between Joan Ilacqua and Dr. Grant V. Rodkey, taken 12 December 2014 at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts. Topics include history of the Boston Medical Library, creation of the Countway Library,…
"The technique of a medico-legal investigation" by George B. Magrath. Page 20-28.
George B. Magrath presented this lecture describing a typical investigation to the members of the Massachusetts Medico-Legal Society on its meeting on February 1, 1922.
Photograph of George Burgess Magrath
Photograph of George Burgess Magrath, July 1933
Oral history interview with Francine Benes (audio and transcript)
Oral history and a transcript for part 1 of an interview between Joan Ilacqua, Project Archivist and Francine Benes, MD, PhD, William P. and Henry B. Test Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and Director Emeritus of the Harvard Brain…
Oliver Wendell Holmes memorial sundial on the Charles River Esplanade
Photograph of the Oliver Wendell Holmes memorial and sundial on the Charles River Esplanade
Skeleton of the Warren mastodon in the Warren Museum of Natural History, circa 1906.
Photograph of the skeleton of the Warren mastodon, a portion of the zeuglodon, and other fossils in the Warren Museum of Natural History
Theatre of anatomy
Hand-colored aquatint of the anatomical theatre at the University of Cambridge, drawn by A[ugustus Charles] Pugin and engraved by J. D. Stadler. Taken from William Combe's A history of the University of Cambridge, its colleges, halls, and public…
Circle of Willies, circa 1909.
Silhouettes and autographs of members of the Harvard Medical School Class of 1909 with color illustration of the Circle of Willis
"Postmortem examination in cases of suspected rape," Page 313.
Original research into medico-legal problems was one of the Department's fundamental activities from the outset, and over one hundred articles were published by members of the staff from 1940 to 1954. The article by O. J. Pollak uses a composite of…
Photographs of the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death, circa 1946.
Photographs of the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death: Log Cabin, Dark Bathroom, Saloon and Jail, Three-room Dwelling--Kitchen, and Kitchen
Alan R. Moritz with Barn Nutshell Study of Unexplained Death, circa 1948.
Alan R. Moritz with Barn Nutshell Study of Unexplained Deatlh in the Department of Legal Medicine, Harvard Medical School.
Photographs of Alan Richards Moritz with skeleton, circa 1946.
Photographs of Alan Richards Moritz with skeleton.
Photographs of Researchers in the Department of Legal Medicine, circa November 1941.
Photographs of Researchers in the Department of Legal Medicine
Photographs of Researchers in the Department of Legal Medicine, circa 1946.
Photographs of Researchers in the Department of Legal Medicine, circa 1946.
Photograph of Richard Ford, circa 1955.
Photograph of Richard Ford
Photograph of Alan Richards Moritz, circa April 1949.
Photograph of Alan Richards Moritz
Bookplate of the George Burgess Magrath Library of Legal Medicine
In the 1920s, New England heiress Frances Glessner Lee (d. 1962) became fascinated with the colorful crime-solving career of George Burgess Magrath (1870-1938), the medical examiner for Suffolk County and an instructor in legal medicine at Harvard…
Photograph of the aftermath of the Summer Street Bridge disaster, November 8, 1916.
On the evening of November 7, 1916, a streetcar plunged 20 feet off an open drawbridge into the Fort Point Channel, sinking some 30 feet below the surface. There were 47 fatalities and only a handful of survivors. George Burgess Magrath and Timothy…
"Dean explains dropping Dept. of Legal Medicine" from the Boston Sunday Advertiser, August 13, 1967.
The Medical School's new dean, Robert H. Ebert, here announces the dissolution of the Department of Legal Medicine, stating that the training of medical examiners would be handled better by hospitals, and the appointment of William J. Curran, as…
"How murderers beat the law," from The Saturday Evening Post, December 10, 1949. Page 032-033.
Published in the period following the resignation of Alan R. Moritz's and the appointment of Richard Ford, this article from The Saturday Evening Post criticizes the coroner system and promotes the importance of the medical-legal research work at…
Summons to Charles T. Jackson and others, January 1, 1850. Page 01-02.
Following the discovery of charred human bones and some artificial teeth in the laboratory of John White Webster, Harvard's Erving Professor of Chemistry, scientific experts were called in to provide anatomical and chemical analyses of the remains on…
Autograph letter signed : Boston, Mass., to Winslow Lewis,
[Boston, Mass.?], December 5, 1849. Page 01-03.
Following the discovery of charred human bones and some artificial teeth in the laboratory of John White Webster, Harvard's Erving Professor of Chemistry, scientific experts were called in to provide anatomical and chemical analyses of the remains on…
Plate 5. License plate imprint in wood utility pole.
The last external program of the Department of Legal Medicine was the Research on Fatal Highway Collisions project; Alfred L. Moseley, a psychologist, was the principal investigator. The project, funded by a five-year grant from the National…
Photograph of a preview of “Mystery Street,” September 1950
An MGM film originally intended as a documentary on the work of the Department of Legal Medicine was later recast as a fictional drama—Mystery Street (also known as Murder at Harvard.) The plot concerns a police detective (Ricardo Montalban)…
"Cinema: the new pictures," August 7, 1950.
An MGM film originally intended as a documentary on the work of the Department of Legal Medicine was later recast as a fictional drama—Mystery Street (also known as Murder at Harvard.) The plot concerns a police detective (Ricardo Montalban)…
Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death: Notes and comments, circa 1946.
Description of the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death
Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death: Case No. 4. Kitchen. Page 01-03.
Description of Kitchen model of Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death.
Medical jurisprudence; a syllabus for students at Boston University, Harvard, Tufts and Yale Medical Schools, Formulated 1947. Revised 1957. [Boston. 1957]. Page 23.
First formulated in 1947 and, as here, reissued ten years later, is a summary of laws relating to medical practice for students, illustrating some of the wide-ranging areas in which legal medicine could be involved.
Photograph of the Fourteenth Seminar in Homicide Investigation for State Police, November 17-22, 1952, Department of Legal Medicine, Harvard Medical School.
Photograph of the Fourteenth Seminar in Homicide Investigation.
Seminar in Legal Medicine. Advanced Session for Medical Examiners, Coroners and Pathologists. Program. Page 01-02.
In 1945, the Department began to offer these educational seminars. The advanced session for medical examiners, coroners, and pathologists was conducted in association with Boston University and Tufts College.
The fall 1945 seminar in homicide…
The fall 1945 seminar in homicide…
Letter : Littleton, N.H., to Alan R. Moritz, Boston, Mass.,
August 21, 1945 . Page 01-03.
This letter from Mrs. Lee to Alan Moritz is one of the few discussions of her work on the Nutshell Studies and documents the meticulous details involved in their creation.
I am glad you have found the study of these cases interesting. I found…
I am glad you have found the study of these cases interesting. I found…
Sixteen introductory lectures to courses of lectures upon the institutes and practice of medicine, with a syllabus of the latter (Philadelphia : Bradford and Innskeep, 1811)
This printed version of Rush’s medical lectures at the University of Pennsylvania includes an 1810 lecture on the study of medical jurisprudence—thought to be the first American treatise published on the subject. Rush opens his lecture stating,…
Letter : [Glasgow, Scotland], to Frances G. Lee, Littleton, N.H. Page 01-04.
After some weeks abroad, Alan R. Moritz sent these reflections on legal medicine in an academic context to Mrs. Lee to help crystalize the direction and goals of the new department.
My greatest problem to date has been to arrive at some more or less…
My greatest problem to date has been to arrive at some more or less…
Committee to Consider the Future of Legal Medicine in Harvard University. Minutes, April 13, 1936. Pages 01-04.
Following the gift of the Magrath endowment, the Medical School formed a committee to examine the scope, nature, and activities related to legal medicine. These minutes of the committee’s initial meeting outline the proposed activities, association…
Credo of the Department of Legal Medicine of Harvard University, circa 1960.
While unclear how or even whether this statement of beliefs was ever used, it provides an overview of the purpose and function of the Department of Legal Medicine.
"How murderers beat the law," from The Saturday Evening Post, December 10, 1949.
Published in the period following the resignation of Alan R. Moritz's and the appointment of Richard Ford, this article from The Saturday Evening Post criticizes the coroner system and promotes the importance of the medical-legal research work at…
Photograph of pocket watch with bullet hole, 1920.
George B. Magrath’s reputation involved him in some of the most celebrated and notorious criminal trials of the early 20th century, and he performed an examination on Alessandro Berardelli, the guard at the Slater & Morrill Shoe Factory who, along…
Letter : Charlestown, Mass., to George B. Magrath,
Boston, Mass., August 18, 1927.
George B. Magrath’s reputation involved him in some of the most celebrated and notorious criminal trials of the early 20th century, and he performed an examination on Alessandro Berardelli, the guard at the Slater & Morrill Shoe Factory who, along…
"Jake Magrath," 1939.
This parody of Rudyard Kipling’s poem “Mandalay” was distributed to the members of the St. Botolph’s Club, where Magrath lived for many years—“Number Four” was the club’s address on Newbury Street at that time.
Medical jurisprudence.
5th American from the 7th and improved London edition,
with additions by Edward Hartshorne. Page 674.
Taylor’s Medical jurisprudence was a standard manual for the study of legal medicine. It was first printed in London in 1844, and an American edition followed in the next year. At least twelve editions were produced by the end of the 19th century,…
Notes on legal medicine lectures of Frank Winthrop Draper taken by Ralph Clinton Larrabee, October-November 1896.
The notes on Draper’s lectures from fourth-year student, Ralph C. Larrabee, concern signs of death and the onset of rigor mortis and the autopsy of an arsenic poisoning case.
Photograph of Frank W. Draper by J. E. Purdy, circa 1900.
A photograph of Frank W. Draper by J. E. Purdy
Admission ticket to the lectures on the theory and practice of midwifery and medical jurisprudence for E. W. Pierce, November 6, 1839.
Admission ticket to the lectures of Walter Channing on the theory and practice of midwifery and medical jurisprudence for E. W. Pierce,
Medical jurisprudence; or, A code of ethics and institutes, adapted to the professions of physic and surgery.
Thomas Percival’s Medical ethics, published in 1803, is considered the first fundamental treatise on the conduct of physicians in hospital and private practice. Medical ethics was an expanded version of this earlier pamphlet, Medical jurisprudence. …
Experimental pistol-shooting at short range, 1881.
D.B.N. Fish, a physician and medical examiner at Amherst, compiled studies of gunshot residue; the item displayed shows a shot from a Smith and Wesson revolver at a distance of four inches. Fish was attempting to determine whether any differences…
“Plunged in Front of an ‘L’ Train,” May 18, 1896.
As this newspaper article reports, nineteen year old Benjamin Stone of New York, afflicted with headaches, threw himself in front of a train and committed suicide. The article is part of a five-volume collection of newspaper accounts of several…
Oral history interview with Matthew Vieira
Matthew Vieira was born in 1934 in East Boston, Massachusetts. His father, who was Portuguese, worked as a truck driver. Matty had two sisters and describes his home as “Just an average American family.” Mr. Vieira has one son. He and his wife…
Oral history interview with Francis Story
Francis Story was born in 1928 in Beverly, Massachusetts.
Sonny, as he is known, is married and has six children. He has grandsons affected with hemophilia. Sonny grew up during the Depression and has vivid memories of that time. He played in a…
Sonny, as he is known, is married and has six children. He has grandsons affected with hemophilia. Sonny grew up during the Depression and has vivid memories of that time. He played in a…
Oral history interview with William Somers
William Somers was born in 1964 in Lutchlade, England. He is married and has one child. He has a PhD in biophysics. Coming to the United States and dealing with our health care system was quite a shock. He has moderate factor VIII deficiency and…
Oral history interview with Stephen Place
Stephen Place was born in 1954 in Oak’s Bluff on Cape Cod’s Martha’s Vineyard Island. Stephen is married and has two daughters. He has worked in sales. He has a nephew with hemophilia. He believes you must “know your limits and go to the limit.” He…
Oral history interview with Robert Massie
Robert Massie was born in 1956 in New York. His parents wrote the book Journey, an autobiographical account of their son with hemophilia
Mr. Massie is an ordained Episcopal minister and also has an MBA from Harvard College. He is married and has…
Mr. Massie is an ordained Episcopal minister and also has an MBA from Harvard College. He is married and has…
Oral history interview with James Martinowsky
Dr. James Martinowsky was born in 1953 in Washington Heights, New York
He has moderate factor VIII deficiency and hepatitis C. He is married and has one teenage son. James is a child, adolescent and adult psychiatrist teaching and practicing in…
He has moderate factor VIII deficiency and hepatitis C. He is married and has one teenage son. James is a child, adolescent and adult psychiatrist teaching and practicing in…
Oral history interview with William Lynch
William Lynch was born in 1960 in Fall River, Massachusetts.
He went to school in Fall River; his mother was a nurse and his father was a school principal. When he was diagnosed with
hemophilia at age one, it came as a surprise to his family…
He went to school in Fall River; his mother was a nurse and his father was a school principal. When he was diagnosed with
hemophilia at age one, it came as a surprise to his family…
Oral history interview with David LePage
David LePage was born in 1963. David is single and lives alone. He has dealt with mental and physical challenges throughout his life. He has been a public speaker about his experiences living with chronic illness and has found that his faith has been…
Oral history interview with Christopher Kucinski
Christopher Kucinski was born in 1949 in Brockton, Massachusetts
Married with four children, Chris grew up in a family of ten, seven of whom had hemophilia
Chris was loved deeply by his family and was a beacon of hard work and positive…
Married with four children, Chris grew up in a family of ten, seven of whom had hemophilia
Chris was loved deeply by his family and was a beacon of hard work and positive…
Oral history interview with Robert Jarratt
Robert Jarratt is a married man who was born in 1943 in Tennessee
He is married and has a daughter. Bob was diagnosed when he was in the Air Force and the confirmation of his diagnosis ended his military career. After open- heart surgery in the…
He is married and has a daughter. Bob was diagnosed when he was in the Air Force and the confirmation of his diagnosis ended his military career. After open- heart surgery in the…
Oral history interview with Theodore Frost
Theodore Frost was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts
in 1915. Theodore, who was married but had no children, worked as a carpenter most of his life. He has many memories of years spent in the hospital when he was a child and the miracle of Factor…
in 1915. Theodore, who was married but had no children, worked as a carpenter most of his life. He has many memories of years spent in the hospital when he was a child and the miracle of Factor…
Oral history interview with Andrew Flagg
Andrew Flagg was born in Massachusetts in 1959. His father was a plant manager at a plastics firm and his mother was a bookkeeper. He has two older sisters. His grandfather died from complications of hemophilia when Mr. Flagg was eight years old. Mr.…
Oral history interview with Jeryl Drummey
Jeryl Drummey was born in 1941 in Brighton, Massachusetts
Married with one daughter, he worked for ten years in a bookstore and then for twenty-five years for a distributor of women’s clothing. Jeryl feels strongly that health providers must…
Married with one daughter, he worked for ten years in a bookstore and then for twenty-five years for a distributor of women’s clothing. Jeryl feels strongly that health providers must…
Oral history interview with Michael Dowling
Michael Dowling is a single man who was born in 1960 in St. Albans, Vermont
He has been very active in the HIV and hemophilia
community. He learned of his positive HIV status when a public health official told him from his car in a parking lot…
He has been very active in the HIV and hemophilia
community. He learned of his positive HIV status when a public health official told him from his car in a parking lot…
Oral history interview with Michael Donovan
Michael Donovan was born in Boston, Massachusetts
in 1962. After his father left the family, Mr. Donovan’s mother moved to Houlton, Maine and, later, to Whitman, Massachusetts, where Mr. Donovan went to school
He has a degree in electronics and…
in 1962. After his father left the family, Mr. Donovan’s mother moved to Houlton, Maine and, later, to Whitman, Massachusetts, where Mr. Donovan went to school
He has a degree in electronics and…
Oral history interview with Clifford Deschenes
Cliff Deschenes was born in 1954 in Lawrence, Massachusetts
He works in electronics at Wang Laboratories and is married with two children. One nephew has hemophilia
He has learned to take one day at a time so as not to get too frustrated. Cliff…
He works in electronics at Wang Laboratories and is married with two children. One nephew has hemophilia
He has learned to take one day at a time so as not to get too frustrated. Cliff…
Oral history interview with Wendell Bourne
Wendell Bourne was born in 1948 in Cambridge, Massachusetts
He is married and has four children and one grandson with
hemophilia
Mr. Bourne is the director of multicultural education for Kindergarten through 12th grade in the Cambridge school…
He is married and has four children and one grandson with
hemophilia
Mr. Bourne is the director of multicultural education for Kindergarten through 12th grade in the Cambridge school…
Oral history interview with Avida
Avida was born in Massachusetts in 1964. At the age of nine he moved to Michigan
He has an advanced degree in psychology and is currently working to grow a nonprofit community arts and wellness center in Massachusetts
He has severe hemophilia,…
He has an advanced degree in psychology and is currently working to grow a nonprofit community arts and wellness center in Massachusetts
He has severe hemophilia,…
Oral history interview with Roy Arruda
Roy Arruda was born in 1960 in the Azores
His older brother, who also had hemophilia, died of complications from AIDS in 1995. Roy, who is not married, works as a nursing assistant with people who have AIDS. He is an avid hiker on the Appalachian…
His older brother, who also had hemophilia, died of complications from AIDS in 1995. Roy, who is not married, works as a nursing assistant with people who have AIDS. He is an avid hiker on the Appalachian…