Dr. Robert H. Babcock papers, 1876-1938

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  • Creator Names Babcock, Robert H. (Robert Hall), 1851-1930.
  • Title Dr. Robert H. Babcock papers [manuscript], 1876-1938, bulk 1880-1925.
  • Physical description 0.5 linear ft. (1 box)
  • Collection summary Personal papers of Dr. Robert H. Babcock, a blind Chicago physician, include of a book of memoirs about his boyhood written by his mother, Emily (Hall) Babcock; 5 folders of letters he wrote (typed) to his parents while he was a medical student in Germany from 1880-1883; miscellaneous correspondence, 1876-1925; an autobiography and a tribute to his wife, Lizzie Weston Babcock, which he wrote from 1913 to 1916 and addressed to his children; a scrapbook of news clippings concerning Dr. Babcock's career, letters written for a testimonial dinner in 1925, condolence letters and memorials received by his family upon his death in 1930; and a list of his publications and some reprints of articles.
  • Finding Aids Note Descriptive inventory available online.
  • Acquisition information Gift of George Lill, II (1985.0129).
  • Biographical or Historical Note Babcock lost his sight in an accidental explosion of gunpowder when he was 13; attended the Institute for the Blind in Philadelphia; preparatory school at Olivet, Michigan; Western Reserve College in Hudson, Ohio; the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor; Adelbert College of Western Reserve University; Ann Arbor Medical College in 1874; Chicago Medical College (M.D. degree, 1878); College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York; and further study and clinical training in Berlin, Munich, and Wurzburg, Germany in 1880-1883. He held the Chair of Clinical Medicine and Diseases of the Chest in the Chicago College of Physicians and Surgeons from 1891 to 1905; was an attending physician in the Cook County Hospital for many years; and wrote a basic text on pulmonary diseases, a widely acclaimed text on the heart, and another book for the general reader on this specialty.
  • Names
    • Babcock, Robert H. (Robert Hall), 1851-1930 Archives.
    • Babcock, Emily Hall.
    • Babcock, Emily Hall.
  • Subjects
    • Blind Education Germany 19th century.
    • Blind Education United States 19th century.
    • Blind Illinois Chicago 19th century.
    • Blind Illinois Chicago 20th century.
    • Children Michigan Kalamazoo 19th century.
    • Families Illinois Chicago 19th century.
    • Families Illinois Chicago 20th century.
    • Physicians Illinois Chicago 19th century.
    • Physicians Illinois Chicago 20th century.
    • Physicians Illinois Chicago Biography.
    • Sanatoriums Germany 19th century.
  • Geographic coverage
    • Chicago (Ill.) Social conditions.
    • Germany Description and travel 19th century.
    • Kalamazoo (Mich.) Social life and customs 19th century.
  • Genre
    • Autobiographies. aat
    • Correspondence. aat
    • Memoirs. aat
    • Scrapbooks. aat
  • Geographic name
    • Germany Prussia Brandenburg Berlin.
    • United States Illinois Cook County Chicago.
    • United States Michigan Kalamazoo County Kalamazoo.
  • Finding aid URL Finding aid available online http://chsmedia.org/media/fa/fa/M-B/BabcockR-inv.htm