|
BIOGRAPHICAL
Edward
Oram Shakespeare, physician, public health official, and
bacteriologist, was born in Dover, Delaware, in 1846,the son of
William McIntire Shakespeare and
Catherine Haman Shakespeare.
He died in 1900. In his genealogical research (of which he was fond),
Edward Oram traced his ancestry to the
playwright William Shakespeare's brother. A graduate of Dickinson
College and the Medical
Department of the University of Pennsylvania, Edward Oram Shakespeare
distinguished himself early in his career as an ophthalmologist, lecturing
at the University of Pennsylvania, and practicing eye surgery and
refraction at Philadelphia General Hospital. He devised his own
ophthalmoscope and ophthalmometer, publishing the results of his findings
in The American Journal of Medical Sciences.
Ophthalmology, however, represents a small fraction of his varied
interests. His skillful work in the laboratory at Philadelphia General
Hospital helped to establish a role for investigative medicine in American
hospitals and medical schools, and he soon became a scientific consultant
to governmental bodies. In 1885, he was commissioned by the mayor of
Philadelphia to study the cause of typhoid
fever in Plymouth, Pa. The results of this work, summarized in "The Lesson
Taught by the Epidemic at Plymouth Concerning Typhoid Fever," emphasize
the importance of a pure water supply and proper sanitation.
Later
that year, Shakespeare was appointed by Grover Cleveland to travel to
Spain and elsewhere to study a cholera epidemic. His five years of travel
and study resulted in his work, Report on Cholera in Europe and India.
This thousand-page report was regarded as an encyclopedic history of
the disease and was presented to Congress in 1890. The American Medical
Association hailed it as a "great work" and Shakespeare was regarded as
the leading expert on cholera. He served as port physician in Philadelphia
during the cholera scare of 1892 because of this background.
Together with Walter Reed and Victor Vaughan, Shakespeare as Major and
Brigade Surgeon of the U.S. Volunteer Army investigated the health
conditions in army camps during the Spanish American War. Their
conclusions discounted the results of clinical examinations when they were
contradicted by bacteriological findings. Measures for proper hygiene and
cleanliness were to be implemented in the camps if typhoid was to be
eliminated. Before his completed work was published, Shakespeare
died suddenly.
Shakespeare was an early proponent of germ theory, becoming a pioneer in
bacteriology in Philadelphia. He was a supporter of Robert Koch,
discoverer of both the tuberculosis and cholera bacilli, and like Koch
contributed to the emerging field of public health and preventive
medicine.
Shakespeare was elected a Fellow of the College of Physicians in 1877.
SCOPE AND CONTENTS
The
papers of Edward Oram Shakespeare reflect the versatility of his
interests. The bulk of the medically-related papers concern his work on
the Cholera Commission, as an attendee at the International Sanitary
Conference and during his service in the Spanish American War.
Other medical material includes publications and correspondence. Most of
non-medical material consists of family papers, which contain a great deal
of genealogical material.
Original order was almost completely lacking when the collection was
accessioned, except some material was sorted into envelopes or secured
together with rubber bands. Series were determined by considering the
various aspects of Shakespeare's life and career, and fall into three
large groupings: medical, military, and family. Subseries are arranged
alphabetically by type of material, title, or author, depending upon the
subseries. Researchers should check each series for the subjects of their
interest.
Series I consists of professional correspondence. Of particular
significance is his correspondence with Thomas J. Burrill and Frank S.
Billings about the nature of the hog cholera and swine plague bacilli,
and Shakespeare's correspondence with publisher J. C. Slay about
Dietetics and Hygiene Gazette (Shakespeare was an editor). It was
Shakespeare's idea to send advanced copies of his editorials to newspapers
to encourage interest in the publication. Other correspondents include
Philadelphia Mayor William Smith (requesting E. O. Shakespeare's help in
dealing with the epidemic in the Plymouth, Pa. [1885]), Louis Pasteur,
Benjamin Meade Bolton, Auguste Chaveaux, Robert Koch, James Paget, John
Guiteras, Friedrich Loeffler, and Joseph Toner.
Series II represents the work of the Cholera Commission, established by
Executive Order by President Cleveland on 10 Oct. 1885, with Shakespeare
as chair. Appointment documents and letters of introduction (signed by
among others Secretaries of State Thomas Bayard and James Blaine) are
included in this series, as is correspondence from the various U. S.
consulates, mainly from Spain, which was the initial focus of
Shakespeare's investigations. There are also financial records, a diary
kept by Shakespeare during his first trip to Spain, and articles and
reviews about
Shakespeare and his work.
Series III focuses on Shakespeare's service as an official United States
delegate to the International Sanitary Conference of 1894. Included in
this section is a preliminary report to the President regarding the
American concern for the transportation of cholera to America through
European emigration as well as the list of delegates and various notes
and invitations received while attending the conference.
Correspondents include Grover Cleveland, Robert Koch, and S. Weir
Mitchell.
Series IV covers Shakespeare's service on the National Rifle Team, which
went to Camp Wimbledon in England in 1883. Invitations to dinners and
parties, including two by the Prince of Wales, are found in this series.
Series V contains material about Shakespeare's service during the Spanish
American War. He was appointed in June of 1898 to be chairman of the
Committee on Sanitation of the National Relief Commission and asked in
September of the same year to be Brigade Surgeon in the U.S.
Volunteer Army by George Sternberg, the Surgeon General. Included in this
series are reports regarding Shakespeare's crusade for proper sanitary
conditions in the army. There are also army orders and
clippings about camp sanitation.
Series VI holds miscellaneous papers concerning Shakespeare's military
service, such as notices of promotion.
Series VII contains publications by E. O. Shakespeare. Topics are varied
and consist of such topics as the anatomy of the eye and the post-mortem
exam of presidential assassin Charles Guiteau. Included in this section is
an address from a special committee of the College of Physicians
concerning the necessity for national control of maritime quarantine,
and an interview with a newspaper. Series VIII holds miscellaneous
professional papers. Of interest are an advertisement for an
ophthalmometer (perhaps the one designed by Shakespeare) and a petition
signed by prominent Philadelphia physicians agreeing to give a dinner for
Shakespeare.
Series IX consists of certificates and notices of awards. Shakespeare's
certificate of Fellowship in the College of Physicians is in the series.
Series X contains various personal photographs as well as photomicrographs
used in his work. Of interest is the photograph of E. O. Shakespeare in
Shakespearean dress and a photograph of him in a uniform. There are also
two glass negatives of his father as well as a photograph of his
entire family taken in California.
Series XI is family papers. The largest subseries has the records of
Shakespeare's genealogical research;
Shakespeare was fascinated with his pedigree and tracing his ancestry to
the Bard's brother. The material includes pages of charts on the
family history. Of note is the professionally executed pedigree of William
McIntire Shakespeare, Sr. of Dover, Delaware from 1673 and the
pedigree provided by Francis C. Hersey in 1895. E.O. Shakespeare compiled
this genealogy by corresponding
with relatives and searching various parishes in England. The
correspondence section is highlighted by John Herr Musser's report on
Shakespeare's health and that of his children. The financial records
are replete with family deeds from the 1800's as well as with records from
the disposition of the estate of Stephen Shakespeare.
PROVENANCE
The
papers of Edward Oram Shakespeare were donated to the College in January
of 2001 by his grandson, Edward Oram Shakespeare. They had been in the
family's possession since his grandfather's death and arrived at the
College in a suitcase. Charles Greifenstein, Curator of Archives &
Manuscripts, examined the collection and initially organized it, foldering
and boxing material in acid-free housing. The collection was fully
processed in 2002 by Catherine Clawson, an intern from Temple University. |
