2015 is Almost History

Goodbye 2015, it’s been quite a year!

During the past twelve months on Circulating Now, we heard from all kinds of people who work with history every day, scholars and students, curators and public health officials, and of course our dedicated staff, some of whom joined us here for the first time this year.

We met new people who love medical history like Amy Wiese Forbes, a professor at a Millsaps College in Mississippi, who uses primary source documents like letters and public documents to help students think about the complexities of medical understanding in history. She says of her students, “Their desire to empathize with the exploited populations, the medical professionals, the beneficiaries of therapeutic understanding, and the defenders of civil rights and medical ethics, brings medical history to life.”

We also enjoyed visiting with our friends and our family, and we bid a fond farewell to our director of 31 years.

Tim Clarke Jr., the NMHM’s Deputy Director for Communications, speaking with NLM staff about the Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion and its relationship to the artifacts on display and the history of the museum itself.

Ambassador Verbeke and Professor Wils view NLM’s copy of De Fabrica. Photo by Stephen Greenberg, NLM

Michael North displays a rare book for Chairman Adams. Photo by Stephen Greenberg, NLM

Opening Night at the Against the Odds: Making a Difference in Global Health Exhibition

We marked several historical events during the past year, including the 150^th anniversary of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, the 50th Anniversary of Nirenberg’s Genetic Code Charts—groundbreaking scientific documents held in NLM’s historical collections—and the 50th Anniversary of the enactment of Medicare and Medicaid.

Illustration by Hermann Faber of Lincoln at the Petersen House. Faber was a hospital steward sent to the Petersen House to capture the care Lincoln received from Army physicians.
Courtesy National Library of Medicine
B017245

President Lyndon Johnson signs the 1965 Medicare Bill

Marshall Nirenberg at The White House with Robert Q. Marston, Perola Nirenberg, President Lyndon B. Johnson, and Wilber Cohen, 1968 Photo by William Leonard

We acquired some amazing new collections including Dr. Schwartz’s Stamp Collection, a group of seven 1964 Public Health Service films about Emmy Immunity, a collection from NASA on medicine and space flight, and Marshall Nirenberg’s Nobel Prize medal and certificate. We also continued to grow our initiative to capture and preserve selected born-digital content documenting the 2014 Ebola outbreak.

NASA Spacesuit Guidebook

Emmy Immunity

Nursing Profession. United States, First Day of Issue, 1961

Marshall Nirenberg’s Nobel Medal, 1968

President Obama visits the Vaccine Research Center, December 2, 2014 Courtesy National Institutes of Health

And we launched some exciting new resources. Two new exhibitions Confronting Violence: Improving Women’s Lives and For All the People: A Century of Citizen Action in Health Care Reform, are traveling around the country and available online. A new Profiles in Science website explores the life and work of “Mr. Public Health,” Congressman John E. Fogarty. And a digital archive of FDA Notices of Judgment Collection, 1908–1966 is now available for research.

Kellogg’s Pep, FFNJ case number 25868

John E. Fogarty with Melvin Laird on the U.S. Capitol steps. ca. 1960 Courtesy Phillips Memorial Library, Special and Archival Collections at Providence College

John E. Fogarty campaign brochure, 1958 Courtesy of Mary Fogarty McAndrew

Throughout the year we had great feedback from many of you. We were thrilled by your enthusiastic response to our posts “Wrapped in flesh”: Views of the body in East Asian Medicine, Oil on Paper: A Collaborative Conservation Challenge, and Where to Find History of Medicine Collections. Thanks for reading.

We have lots in store for 2016, so if you’re new to Circulating Now, welcome! And whether you’re a first time visitor or one of our growing community of followers, we invite you to stay tuned for another great year!