Description
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Collection
Title
Willard M. Allen Papers
Date(s)
- 1928-1971 (Creation)
Extent
0.50 Linear Feet
Name of creator
Biographical history
Willard M. Allen (1904-1993) was an academic obstetrician-gynecologist. He studied organic chemistry at Hobart College before he went the University of Rochester in 1926 to study medicine. In 1927, he took time out from medical studies to do research with his anatomy professor, George W. Corner. Together, they monitored changes in the corpus luteum of rabbits. The corpus luteum produces progesterone, a hormone important to the maintenance of pregnancy. This hormone was unknown until Allen and Corner's discovery of it in their experiments. For this research, Allen earned a master's in science in 1929. After returning to his medical studies in 1930, he earned his M.D. in 1932. Allen and microchemist Oskar Wintersteiner were the first of four groups to isolate progesterone in 1933. After an internship and residency at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, Allen joined the faculty of University of Rochester as Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology in 1936.
In 1940, Allen moved his gynecologic endocrine research operations to Washington University School of Medicine. At the time, he was the medical school's youngest department chair. He remained Department Chair and Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology for over 30 years. An early collaborator in the department was William H. Masters, M.D, of the famous Masters and Johnson research team. At Washington University, Dr. Allen's major discoveries were of the "Blue Color Test" for DHIA (dehydroisoandrosterone) in diagnosis of adrenal tumors and the development of the "Allen Correction." The Allen Correction was a simple mathematical formula which made possible the analysis of steroids and other compounds by colorimetry. Allen was the first to administer progesterone to human subjects for treatment of uterine bleeding. Outside the laboratory, his most famous contribution was the description of the "Allen-Masters" syndrome, defined as a laceration of ligaments causing abnormal mobility of the cervix.
After his retirement from Washington University in 1971, Willard M. Allen became Professor of Obstetrics at the University of Maryland. Dr. Allen later served as Associate Dean of the medical school at the University of Maryland from 1976-1982.
Scope and content
This collection contains a set of reprints that Dr. Allen gave to the medical library of Washington University in 1965, and the photographs relating to an award he received in 1971 from the St. Louis Medical Society. The reprints include Dr. Allen’s reports of his ground-breaking work on progesterone, the Blue Color Test for DHIA in diagnosis of adrenal tumors, and the development of the “Allen Correction.”
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
The reprints in this collection were the gift of Willard M. Allen to the medical library in 1965. The Willard M. Allen photograph and artifact collection, 1971 (1993-041), was the gift of Allen’s daughter, Lucille A. Anderson in 1993.
Immediate source of acquisition
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
A large and comprehensive manuscript collection of Willard Myron Allen Papersis at Edward G. Miner Library, University of Rochester Medical Center.Willard M. Allen, M.D. - URMC - University of Rochester
Related descriptions
Specialized notes
Alternative identifier(s)
Rules or conventions
"Describing Archives: A Content Standard, Second Edition (DACS), 2013."
Sources used
Archivist's note
© Copyright 2019 Bernard Becker Medical Library Archives. All rights reserved.
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Allen, Willard M. (Subject)