|
Medical School of Maine : Historical Records and Files, 1813-1976, n.d.
39 linear feet.
Catalog Number: 8.2
Series List:
- Biographical Files, 1821-1923, 19.5 linear feet.
- Theses (Dissertations), 1821-1921, 6.5 linear feet.
- Subject Files, 1822-1921, 1 linear foot.
- Chronological Files, 1821-1976, n.d., 1 linear foot.
- Administrative Records, 1820-1922, 1.25 linear feet.
- Accounts, 1818-1910, 2 linear feet.
- Certificates, 1813-1881, 2.25 linear feet.
- Catalogues, 1823-1921, 1.25 linear feet.
- Notes, Lectures and Addresses, 1822-1901, 1 linear foot.
- Temperance Society, 1829-1840, .5 linear feet.
- Diplomas, 1821-1905, 1 linear foot.
- Class Albums
- Realia, 1905-1908, n.d., 1.25 linear feet.
|
Agency History /
Biographical Note:
On June 27, 1820, the first legislature of Maine voted to establish the
Medical School of Maine to be under the control of the Trustees and Overseers
of Bowdoin College. The legislature granted $1500 for initial expenses
and authorized annual payment of $1000 (which ended in 1834) for general
expenses. The first series of lectures were given in the spring of 1821
by Dr. Nathan Smith, founder of the Dartmouth Medical School and then
professor of medicine at Yale University, Dr. John Doane Wells and Professor
Parker Cleaveland, who taught chemistry at Bowdoin for nearly forty years.
Originally housed in Massachusetts Hall, the Medical School moved to its
new quarters, Seth Adams Hall, in 1862. In the early 1900s, Andrew Carnegie
financed a movement to improve medical education in the United States
and get rid of substandard teaching facilities. The Medical School of
Maine's reputation was dealt a severe blow when Carnegie's investigators
gave it an unfavorable review. World War I saw a major shrinkage in the
faculty and enrollment at the school. At that time, the school was running
at a deficit of $7000 per year. In 1918, the Trustees voted to close the
school in 1921, but the Overseers refused. In June 1920, the school celebrated
its centennial. In September of that same year, the Medical Council considered
the Medical School so far below standard that it voted to drop the school
from Class A status. In December 1920, the Boards voted to end all responsibility
for the school unless a endowment for it could be obtained by June 1921.
No endowment was secured, and at the end of Commencement 1921 the Medical
School of Maine ceased to exist.
Scope and Content:
Records of the Medical School of Maine. Collection includes matriculation
records, biographical files on graduates and nongraduates, and records
documenting the administration of the school and financial matters.
Also includes dissertations written by students, catalogues of the library
and anatomical preparations, class lecture notes, and a class photograph
album (1869).
Cite as: Medical School of Maine: Historical Records and Files,
George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives, Bowdoin
College Library.
Access Restrictions: None.
|
