Description
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Collection
Title
Curtman, Charles O., Vertical File
Date(s)
Extent
0.02 Linear Feet
Name of creator
Biographical history
Charles O. Curtman was born Karl Otto Curtman in Giessen, Germany and was a medical graduate of the university in his native city, where he was a student of Justus von Liebig. After working in Antwerp, Belgium as an industrial chemist, he emigrated to the United States and settled in New Orleans in 1850. When the Civil War began he was commissioned as a medical officer in a Confederate cavalry unit, but soon thereafter was assigned to direct the manufacture of medicines and explosives at army laboratories. After the war he practiced medicine in Memphis and from there was recruited to join the faculty of Missouri Medical College in St. Louis. He was Professor of Chemistry at the College from 1868 until 1874 and again from 1883 until his death.
Curtman also taught at the St. Louis College of Pharmacy (the two colleges maintained an informal affiliation) and was on the staff of the Mallinckrodt Chemical Works in the city. Too early to be considered a "biochemist," he was nonetheless a significant local pioneer in investigating and teaching laboratory science to medical and pharmacy students. He was the author of three laboratory manuals and numerous journal reviews of current scientific developments. At the very end of his life, he was among the first in St. Louis to investigate applications for the newly discovered principles of x-ray technology.
Scope and content
System of arrangement
Conditions governing access
The Vertical File 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
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
See also Missouri Medical College; See also St. Louis Medical College.
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
- Curtman, Charles O. (Subject)
- Missouri Medical College (Subject)