Description
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Collection
Title
William H. Olmsted Papers
Date(s)
- 1917-1978 (Creation)
Extent
0.50 Linear Feet
Name of creator
Biographical history
William H. Olmsted (1887-1978) received his M.D. degree from Johns Hopkins University in 1913. He was an intern, 1913-1914 and resident and assistant resident, 1914-1917, at Barnes Hospital and afterwards served with Base Hospital 21, the medical unit sent by the hospital and WUSM to support American troops in World War 1. After the war, Olmsted re-joined the clinical faculty of the WUSM Department of Medicine, climbing the ladder from assistant in internal medicine to associate professor from 1915-1952.Olmsted became emeritus in 1952 .
In Barnes Hospital's first year of operation in 1914, Olmsted was the second medical resident to join the staff, along with acting as a clinical research pathologist, 1914. He was the first head of the hospital's chemical laboratory in 1920, and was the founding president of the Barnes Hospital Society in 1925. Olmsted became physician emeritus in 1952 .
From 1920 to 1963, Dr. Olmsted practiced as a private physician. He was certified in the practice of internal medicine in 1936, specializing in diabetes. In 1920, insulin was discovered to be effective in the treatment of diabetes, and Barnes Hospital was one of the first selected in the country to use the hormone to treat patients. Since Olmsted was the resident expert in diabetes, he became the first doctor to use insulin in St. Louis in the year 1922. Years later, in 1949, he founded the St. Louis Diabetes Association.
Scope and content
The William H. Olmsted papers include correspondence, manuscripts on diabetes, clippings, and reprints of articles. The materials mainly concern the period 1958-1977. Most of the correspondence is photocopied.
System of arrangement
Conditions governing access
The collection is open and accessible for research.
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
Users of the collection should read and abide by the Rights and Permissions guidelines at the Bernard Becker Medical Library Archives.
Users of the collection who wish to cite items from this collection, in whole or in part, in any form of publication must request, sign, and return a Statement of Use form to the Archives.
For detailed information regarding use of this collection, contact the Archives and Rare Book Department of the Becker Library (arb@wusm.wustl.edu).
Preferred Citation:
Item description, Reference Code, Bernard Becker Medical Library Archives, Washington University in St. Louis.
Languages of the material
- English
Scripts of the material
- Latin
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Custodial history
Immediate source of acquisition
Jane O. (Mrs Richard G.) Irwin, August 17, 1978 ( 1978-020: William H. Olmsted collection, 2 record boxes)
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
Specialized notes
Alternative identifier(s)
Rules or conventions
"Describing Archives: A Content Standard, Second Edition (DACS), 2013."
Sources used
Archivist's note
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