Collection context
Summary
- Abstract:
- Material related to the medical career and personal biography of Dr. Baxter Brown. Dr. Brown Specialized in Urology at the Buffalo General Hospital and was Chief of Surgical Services during World War II. The collection includes records of the 23rd General Hospital, U.S. Army; records of the Society of Medical Consultants to the Armed Forces, 1949-1966; press releases of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission on medical aspects of atomic weapons, 1949-1950; and personal papers including photo albums.
- Extent:
- 5.5 Linear Feet
- Language:
- English
- Preferred citation:
[Description and date of item], Box/folder number, Collection number, [Collection name], [Collection dates], The Robert L. Brown History of Medicine Collection, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York.
Background
- Scope and Content:
The Baxter Brown Collection contains records of Dr. Brown's time with the 23rd General Army Hospital, military papers from 1942 to 1966, and personal papers. Papers as Chief of Surgical Services, 1942-1945, include official orders, medical reports, statistics, records of surgery and anesthesia, correspondence, bulletins, and a brief history of the 23rd General Hospital. Other military papers include training manuals and bulletins, 1949-1952; records of the Society of Medical Consultants to the Armed Forces, 1949-1966; and press releases of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission on medical aspects of atomic weapons, 1943-1946. Personal papers include scrapbooks and photo albums documenting Dr. Brown's career and various medical colleagues (1918, 1942-1966), Children's Hospital newsletters, 1943-1946, and various printed materials on military or medical matters including a 1952 article on Buffalo's first surgeon: Dr. Frank Hastings Hamilton.
- Biographical / Historical:
Baxter Brown was born in Aberdeen, South Dakota on April 2, 1900. He served as a private in World War I and received his Bachelor of Science from the University of Wisconsin in 1922. He studied medicine at the University of Chicago and received his degree in 1925, having completed an internship in Cook County Hospital in Chicago in 1924 and 1925. He earned his post-graduate degree in surgery while on a fellowship at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota in 1929. Dr. Brown married Pauline Fisher and moved to Buffalo in 1936, where he specialized in urology at Buffalo General Hospital. In 1932, Dr. Brown reorganized the 23rd U.S. Army General Hospital for duty in World War II, recruiting physicians primarily from Buffalo General Hospital for its staff (the 23rd had done prior service in World War I). Starting as the hospital's Chief of Surgical Services, he later became the unit's commanding officer. After training at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland, the 23rd General Hospital Staff operated in the following war sites: North Africa (Staging) Aug. 6-Oct. 25, 1943; Corroglio/Naples, Italy Nov. 17, 1943-Sept.26, 1944; Vittel, France Nov. 5, 1944-June 20, 1945; Paris France July 14, 1945- Sept. 14, 1945. Col. Brown was also Senior Surgical Consultant for the Continental Advance Section, European Theater of Operations in Africa, Sicily, Italy, and France. After the War, Dr. Brown was Professor of Military Science and Tactics at the University of Buffalo form 1946 to 1947. He later became Clinical Professor of Urology at the University of Buffalo Medical School. From 1960 to 1963, Dr. Brown was the Chairman of the Department of Urology at Buffalo General Hospital. Dr. Brown was a member of the American Board of Urology, the American College of Surgeons, the American and Canadian Urological Association, the Excelsior Surgical Society (an organization of surgeons who served in the European Theater of Operations during WWII), and the Association of Military Surgeons. Dr. Brown was also a member of the Society of Lorenzo Burrows Post 78, the American Legion, the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society, the Medical Society of Western New York, the Erie County and New York State Medical Societies, the American Medical Association, the Sons of the American Revolution, Phi Zeta Pi (a professional fraternity) and Alpha Omega Alpha. Dr. Brown died in Buffalo on Jan. 18, 1967.
- Acquisition information:
- Mrs. Baxter Brown donated the collection the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society in 1967. The Collection was then donated to the Robert L. Brown History of Medicine Collection by the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society.
- Processing information:
Processed by Peter Nelson April 1993
- Arrangement:
The Collection is arranged into three series: I. Records of the 23rd General Hospital, U.S. Army, 1941-1950; II. General military papers, 1942-1966; III. Scrapbooks, photo albums, and other personal papers, 1918, 1942-1966.
- Accruals:
No further accruals are expected.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Access
- RESTRICTIONS:
-
The Baxter Brown Collection is open to researchers.
- TERMS OF ACCESS:
-
Copyright of papers in the collection may be held by their authors, or the authors' heirs or assigns. Researchers must obtain the written permission of the holder(s) of copyright and the Robert L. Brown History of Medicine Collection before requesting photocopies and/or publishing quotations from materials in the collection. Once permission is obtained, most papers may be copied in accordance with the library's usual procedures unless otherwise specified.
- PREFERRED CITATION:
-
[Description and date of item], Box/folder number, Collection number, [Collection name], [Collection dates], The Robert L. Brown History of Medicine Collection, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York.
- LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
- CONTACT:
-
716-829-5737historyofmedicine@buffalo.edu