The Progression of Yellow Fever Observations sur la fièvre jaune, faites à Cadix, en 1819 / par MM. Pariset et Mazet.Images from Wellcome Collection. CC BY. Development of yellow fever. What is Yellow Fever? According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, yellow fever is a disease caused by a virus that is spread through…
Kentucky’s African American Men and Women of Medicine
February is National African American History Month, which honors the sedulous contributions of African Americans across the nation and serves as a reminder of their struggles in seeking equality and freedom. We celebrate the hardworking men and women who fought tirelessly to help others in need in Kentucky. These are just a few of the…
The 1918 “Spanish” Influenza Pandemic
Quick Facts About Kentucky and the Spanish Influenza Pandemic Approximately 13,000-14,000 Kentuckians were casualties of the first and second waves of the pandemic. According to one newspaper report, “R.G. Potter of Louisville, who was a teenager at the time of the pandemic, drove a truck part-time at Camp Taylor” and recalled how the dead were…
Medical Supplies in Early 20th-Century Hospitals
Hospitals are an incredibly important part of every community in the United States. From acute-care hospitals to psychiatric and long-term care facilities, these institutions provide a life-saving service. In order for these places to save lives, they have to be well supplied. From bandages to highly complex machines, these items have proven to be the…
Dr. Stanley G. Bandeen and the Bush-Bandeen Sanatorium
In the late 1920s, Louisville osteopathic physician Dr. Evelyn Bush realized her dream of opening a sanatorium at 1435 South Fourth Street. The very spacious house would allow patients to stay and convalesce while they were being treated. Soon after, Dr. Bush extended an invitation to a fellow Louisville osteopathic physician, Dr. Stanley G. Bandeen….
Forgotten Kentucky Medical Colleges
Be sure to check our Medical Colleges page for more detailed listings. Changing Tides of Medical Education in Kentucky Hospital College of Medicine Louisville, Kentucky Population of Louisville in the early 1880s: 123,758 The Hospital College of Medicine was established in 1873. The first class was graduate in 1875. Classes were graduated each subsequent year….
The Strange Case of Dr. Abner Baker, Jr.
It was a chilly morning on the 3rd of October. Dr. Abner Baker, Jr. rode through a crowd of people in a calm and stoic manner. As the wagon came to a stop, Dr. Baker stepped down and quietly made his way up the steps of the wooden gallows. At his perch upon the gallows,…
Louisville’s 1902 Morgue Scandal
In 1894 the Board of Public Safety and Kentucky legislature passed sweeping changes to Kentucky’s laws regarding the morgue in Louisville, Kentucky and unclaimed bodies. The former held that the morgue shall be in charge of the janitor at the University of Louisville and shall be open at all hours of the day and night…
Medicine Between 1851-1951
Check out the 1910 Abraham Flexner Report from the Carnegie Foundation here. 1851 marked a formative year for Kentucky medicine when the Kentucky Medical Association was established. Within this period, rapid changes and developments occurred which advanced the field of medicine to a level never seen, or thought of, before. Rudolf Virchow, a specialist in…
Kentucky Historic Institutions 