J. B. Murphy papers

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: ghsl-48

Staff Only

Content Description

Collection of photographs, newspapers, correspondence, certificates, publications, and miscellaneous items belonging to and related to surgeon and professor John Benjamin Murphy (1857-1916).

Correspondence includes a 1911 letter and poem from Edith Palmer Putnam; a 1922 letter from Franklin Martin about the J. B. Murphy Oration in Surgery; and Civil War material.

Miscellaneous archival materials include text of a radio address about Murphy given by Reverend James R. Keane, November 8, 1940; a letter of introduction for Murphy on a trip to Berlin to collect Koch lymph (a substance thought to cure tuberculosis) in 1891; a memorial for Murphy sent by the American College of Surgeons to his family; and a hand-illuminated album presented to Murphy and his wife Jeannette by the Sisters of Mercy in commemoration of their 25th wedding anniversary.

Photographs include portraits of Murphy, alone and in groups, and photos of Murphy in the surgical theater at Mercy Hospital, as well as photos of the J. B. Murphy Memorial building and its cornerstone laying.

Newspapers include photocopies of articles about Murphy's life, work, and death; a volume of clippings related to Murphy's death in 1916; and an oversize volume of full newspaper pages covering Murphy's visit to Los Angeles for an American Medical Association meeting in 1911.

Publications include articles about Murphy's work; the 1920 Murphy Oration in Surgery by Sir Berkeley Moynihan about Murphy's life; invitations and programs for events honoring Murphy; and the American College of Surgeons Bulletin covering the dedication of the Murphy Memorial, 1926.

Certificates and diplomas include Murphy's high school and medical school diplomas, certificates of completion of clinical courses and of membership in various organizations, and a hand-illuminated certificate accompanying the Laetare Medal awarded by the University of Notre Dame in 1902 in recognition of outstanding service to the Catholic Church and society.

Stormy Petrel materials include promotional materials for the biography of Murphy written by surgeon and Northwestern professor Loyal Davis published in 1938; correspondence from Kroch's bookstore to Murphy's daughter Cecille Baggot; and photocopies of clippings about publication.

Dates

1878 - 1940

Creator

Murphy, J. B. (John Benjamin), 1857-1916 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Open for research.

Biographical / Historical

John Benjamin Murphy (1857-1916) was a Chicago physician and surgeon who made a name for himself as a pioneer and innovator in many types of surgery, particularly of the abdomen. Born in Appleton, Wisconsin, he received his MD from Chicago’s Rush Medical College in 1879. He taught surgery at Rush Medical College and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Chicago before joining the faculty of Northwestern University Medical School as Professor of Surgery in 1901. After a stint as Chair of Surgery at Rush Medical College from 1905 to 1908, he returned to Northwestern and served as Chair of Surgery from 1908 until his death in 1916 at age 58.

Murphy also served as surgeon-in-chief at Chicago's Mercy Hospital for 21 years. His “wet clinics” at Mercy, where he lectured to an audience of physicians while performing an operation, were internationally renowned and were published as the journal Surgical Clinics of John B. Murphy at Mercy Hospital. Murphy was involved in several significant moments in American history. In 1886 he tended to people hurt during the Haymarket affair, when a bomb went off during a labor demonstration, and in 1912 he cared for Theodore Roosevelt at Mercy Hospital after Roosevelt was shot in an attempted assassination.

Murphy's skill as a surgeon also led to the development of a number of tools and techniques bearing his name, including the Murphy button for intestinal anastomosis, and Murphy’s sign and Murphy’s percussion test for diagnosis of gallbladder inflammation.

Extent

6 Boxes (5 archival boxes and 1 oversize volume)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Collection of photographs, newspapers, correspondence, certificates, publications, and miscellaneous archival items belonging to and related to surgeon and Northwestern professor John Benjamin Murphy (1857-1916).

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Barbara Miller, Murphy's great-granddaughter, December 2010.

Related Materials

See also: Mercy Hospital collection of J. B. Murphy materials (ghsl-16).

Separated Materials

A small, unframed oil painting of Murphy was transferred to Feinberg School of Medicine's portrait collection. It was conserved and framed in 2016 and has been displayed on campus since then.