Baumgarten Reception Photographs | Bernard Becker Medical Library Archives

The St. Louis Medical Society was founded on January 7, 1836 as a professional advocacy, networking, and continuing education group for area physicians The Society's medical library was established in 1869, and in 1979 the St. Louis Medical Society merged with the St. Louis County Medical Society to form the Saint Louis Metropolitan Medical Society.

The Baumgarten family was a German-American family who settled in St. Louis in 1850 and had a great influence on the local medical profession, with members practicing medicine for four generations. It began with Frederick (1810-1869), and passed down through succeeding sons in the next three generations with Gustav (1837-1910), Walter Sr. (1873-1945), and Walter Jr. (1912-1980). Walter Jr. was known for his passion in historic preservation, having acted as trustee for the Jefferson National Expansion Historical Association and a member of the Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works. He made the history of medicine and collection of rare medical texts a special field of study, and was a chairman of the Library for the St. Louis Medical Society, which named him as honorary curator in 1964.