Oliver Fairfield Wadsworth

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Oliver Fairfield Wadsworth (born April 26, 1838 in Boston , Massachusetts , † November 29, 1911 ) was an American ophthalmologist at Harvard University .

Wadsworth was a great-grandchild of the military and politician Peleg Wadsworth . Oliver F. Wadsworth attended the Boston Latin School and earned a bachelor's degree from Harvard University in 1860 , a master 's degree in 1863 and an MD in medicine in 1865 . He then served a short time in the American Civil War under Gottfried Weitzel as a military surgeon .

In 1865 Wadsworth settled as a surgeon in Boston, but soon concentrated exclusively on ophthalmology. He was one of the editors of the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal , which later became the New England Journal of Medicine . In 1865 and 1869/70 he went on study trips to Germany and Switzerland, including to Johann Friedrich Horner in Zurich . As an ophthalmologist, Wadsworth looked after patients at Boston City Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital from 1870 . From 1881 Wadsworth gave courses in ophthalmoscopy , in 1890 (or 1891) he was appointed professor of ophthalmology at Harvard University .

Oliver Wadsworth was considered a precise diagnostician, calm and capable surgeon, conservative clinic director and conscientious teacher. He introduced the written documentation of the examination results and published about 50 scientific papers, often in the Transactions of the American Ophthalmological Society . He did a great job building the Medical Library at Harvard University, serving as one of the librarians from 1875 and as its secretary from 1904.

Wadsworth was a member of several national and international surgical and ophthalmological societies, including the Ophthalmological Society in Heidelberg . In 1899 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences , in 1906 to the American Association for the Advancement of Science . From 1899 to 1902 he was President of the American Ophthalmological Society .

Oliver Fairfield Wadsworth had been married to Martha Chapmann since 1867 and had six children. In 1911 he developed bladder cancer . On his death, he bequeathed $ 10,000 to the Harvard University Medical Library.

literature

  • Wadsworth, Oliver F. In: WB Atkinson: A biographical doctionary of contemporary American physicians and surgeons. 1880.
  • Wadsworth, Oliver Fairfield. In: JS Chamberlain: Universities and their sons. 1899
  • Wadsworth, Oliver Fairfield. In: HA Kelly, WL Burrage: Dictionary of American medical biography. 1928

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Book of Members 1780 – present, Chapter W. (PDF; 852 kB) In: American Academy of Arts and Sciences (amacad.org). Accessed April 22, 2018 .
  2. ↑ Wadsworth, Oliver F. In: aaas.org. February 9, 2018, accessed April 22, 2018 .
  3. ^ Presidents of the Society. In: aosonline.org. Accessed April 22, 2018 .
personal data
SURNAME Wadsworth, Oliver Fairfield
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wadsworth, Oliver F .; Wadsworth, Oliver
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American ophthalmologist
DATE OF BIRTH April 26, 1838
PLACE OF BIRTH Boston , Massachusetts
DATE OF DEATH November 29, 1911