By Ginny A. Roth ~ “My heart beats more for a rougher, commoner, more vulgar art … one that offers direct access to the terrible,
Category: The Great War
A series featuring NLM collections that illuminate the medical history of The Great War.
WWI—“Can Women Physicians Serve in the Army?”
By Susan L. Speaker ~ Women made substantial and visible contributions during the Great War. From the start they joined the war effort as nurses
Revealing Data: The 1918 Flu Never Topped War
By Ashley Bowen ~ Late February and early March marks the 100th anniversary of the Spanish flu’s appearance in the United States. Although the 1918
The Young at Heart
by Ginny A. Roth ~ There is a sweet sense of innocence evoked by the sight of young children dressing up and taking on the
Gassed!
By Susan Speaker ~ World War I is notable for the size of the armies involved, the huge number of casualties, and the vast amount
“Our dear Laddie has been taken”: Edward Revere Osler killed in Flanders, August 1917
By Susan Speaker ~ In an earlier post, I highlighted the wartime experiences of Sir William Osler, who is often called “the father of American
The U.S. Army Medical Department begins Operations in France
By Susan Speaker ~ In recent posts, we’ve featured Base Hospital #4, the first group of American Expeditionary Force (AEF) medical personnel to join the
U.S. Army Base Hospital #4 Receives Royal Greeting in England
By Susan Speaker ~ On May 18, 1917, the Base Hospital #4 group arrived in Liverpool on the HMS Orduna. They were the first of
U.S. Army Base Hospital #4 Embarks for Europe
By Susan Speaker ~ The United States declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917. Just one month later, the first unit of the American
World War I Centenary Forum: A Call to Service
Ginny A. Roth, will speak at 2 PM ET today, April 6 in the NLM Lister Hill Auditorium on “A Call to Service: Women Represented
World War I Centenary Forum: The Frances Dupuy Fletcher Photo Album
Stephen J. Greenberg, will speak at 2 PM ET on April 6 in the NLM Lister Hill Auditorium on “The Frances Dupuy Fletcher Photo Album”
World War I Centenary Forum: Masking Devastation
Sarah Eilers, will speak at 2 PM ET on April 6 in the NLM Lister Hill Auditorium on “Masking Devastation: Inside Anna Ladd’s Paris Studio”
World War I Centenary Forum: Stories from the NLM Collections
By Jeffrey S. Reznick and Anne Rothfeld One hundred years ago, on April 2, 1917, US President Woodrow Wilson spoke to the US Congress requesting
A Nurse’s Scrapbook from The Great War
By Stephen J. Greenberg Anniversaries can be funny things. As we observe (“celebrate” somehow seems wrong in the context) the 100th anniversary of the First
The Punitive Expedition, 1916
By Stephen J. Greenberg The political situation in Mexico, always a matter of great concern to the United States, was particularly volatile in late 1915
“What a mess! And we are not half through”: Dr. Osler on England’s home front in World War I
By Susan Speaker This is one of a series of occasional posts highlighting collections that document medical activities during the Great War, which lasted from
Publications and the Army Medical Library around World War I
Dr. Sanders Marble spoke today at the National Library of Medicine on “Gathering and Spreading Knowledge: Publications and the Army Medical Library around World War
AFS and American Volunteerism in World War I
Circulating Now welcomes guest blogger Nicole J. Milano, Head Archivist and Historical Publications Editor at the Archives of the American Field Service and AFS Intercultural
Travels of a World War I Nurse
By Dan Caughey Photograph postcards, known as “real photo” postcards, were popular mementos to send to loved ones before and during World War I. There
Christmas in Wartime: a formal dinner in cap and apron
By Jeffrey S. Reznick One-hundred years ago this week, Mary Dexter wrote to her mother, Emily Loud Sanford, about her experiences as a volunteer with
Christmas in Wartime: You should have heard the shouts
By Jeffrey S. Reznick One-hundred years ago this week, Mary Dexter wrote to her mother, Emily Loud Sanford, about her experiences as a volunteer with
Christmas in Wartime: gauze stockings for 200 men
By Jeffrey S. Reznick One-hundred years ago this week, Mary Dexter wrote to her mother, Emily Loud Sanford, about her experiences as a volunteer with
Christmas in Wartime: Mary Dexter and the Great War
By Jeffrey S. Reznick One-hundred years ago this week, Mary Dexter wrote to her mother, Emily Loud Sanford, about her experiences as a volunteer with
Thanksgiving DeLuxe, 1918
By Jeffrey S. Reznick and Elizabeth A. Mullen Between 1918 and 1919, across twenty-one states and the District of Columbia, dozens of military hospitals and
The Sacred Work: Galsworthy’s Advocacy for WWI Veterans
By Jeffrey S. Reznick This Veterans Day is the first to occur during the four-year centenary anniversary of World War I. As media outlets feature
Plastic Reconstruction of the Face, 1918
One hundred years ago, in August 1914, the powers of Europe embarked upon a calamitous war which resulted in the death, mutilation, and suffering of
(Re)Discovering The Great War
By Simon Chaplin and Jeffrey S. Reznick Commemorations of the centenary anniversary of World War I have begun in countries around the world. For the
Honoring the Red Cross
By Ginny A. Roth This World War I-era poster created by artist John Mills depicts a Red Cross nurse helping a wounded soldier on the
The Eleventh Hour
By Kenneth M. Koyle When the United States entered the “Great War” in April of 1917, doctors and nurses were among the first volunteers to
