O. H. Robertson Papers, American Philosophical Society

Table of contents

Abstract

A physician and naturalist, Oswald Hope Robertson worked at the Rockefeller Institute, the Peking Union Medical College, and at the medical school of University of Chicago (1927-1951). With a broad range of research interests, Robertson contributed important work on the transmission of pneumonia, the disinfection of air with glycol vapors, and later in his career, on the physiology and ecology of salmonid fishes. He is best remembered, however, as the creator of the first blood bank, established for use by British and American forces during the First World War.

The Robertson Papers contain correspondence, notes, articles, and notebooks on many of Robertson's major research interests, including his work on blood. His early work on salmonid ecology is represented in a journal and eleven notebooks stemming from fieldwork in the lakes of the Wind River Range in northwestern Wyoming, 1942-1951. There is also interesting material on the Research Corporation (New York City) concerning patents on glycol vapors and air sterilizers, as well as notes and manuscripts of papers on morphine experiments, canine pneumococcus, bacteremia, and the effects of hydrocortisone.

Background note
Scope & content
Administrative information
Additional information
- Related material
- Bibliography
Added entries
Contact information
Collection overview
- Series I. Correspondence, 1918-1966
- Series II. Manuscripts and Notes, n.d.
- Series III. Published Works by Robertson, n.d.
- Series IV. Published Works by Others, n.d.
- Series V. Bibliographic Index Files, n.d.
- Series VI. Research Notes, 1941-1951
- Series VII. Daily Reminder Books, 1951-1962
Collection inventory
- Series I. Correspondence, 1918-1966
- Series II. Manuscripts and Notes, ca.1940-1966
- Series III. Published works by Robertson
- Series IV. Published works by others
- Series V. Bibliographic Index Files, n.d.
- Series VI. Research Notes, n.d.
- Series VII. Daily Reminder Books, 1951-1962

Background note

The pathologist who established the first blood banks, Oswald Hope Robertson was born in Woolwich, England in 1886, and moved to the San Joaquin Valley, California, at the age of two. Following completion of his BS and MS at the University of California, Robertson entered Harvard for his medical degree (1913), and remained in Boston as an intern at Massachusetts General Hospital. From his days as a graduate student, he took an active research interest in haematology, winning a Dalton post-graduate Scholarship to study pernicious anemia, and working under Roger I. Lee on transfusion and clotting. Blood would remain with him throughout his career.

In 1915, Robertson was recruited to the Rockefeller Institute to work under the direction of Peyton Rous. His career at the Rockefeller was to be brief, however. With America's entry into the war in Europe, he enlisted with a medical team from Massachusetts General Hospital to serve with the American and British Expeditionary Forces in France. There, he and J. R. Turner put their knowledge of blood cell survival to use, introducing a citrate and glucose solution that extended the life of blood for several days by preventing clotting and providing nourishment to the cells, respectively. With Rous's input, Robertson and Turner recognized the potential to establish a series of "blood depots," forerunners to the modern blood bank, in which preserved blood was collected from O-positive (universal) donors to store for use in emergency deployment, without the need for verifying blood type of the donee. For his efforts, Robertson, still a British citizen, was awarded the Distinguished Service Order of Great Britain in 1919.

Although Robertson returned to the Rockefeller briefly after the completion of his military obligations, in 1919 he accepted an associate professorship at the newly established Peking Union Medical College in Beijing, China, later becoming Full Professor (1923-1927) and head of the department. Still hoping to pursue his interest in anemia, medical necessity again called, as he turned to the study of pneumonia and pulmonary infections.

Robertson's work on pneumonia and pulmonary diseases gathered steam after he returned to the United States in 1927. Accepting a position as head of the Department of Medicine at the University of Chicago, Robertson explored the use of glycol vapors as a means of preventing the spread of airborne infection. As it had in 1917, his research brought him to the attention of the military, and with the outbreak of Second World War, earned him a position as the civilian Director of the Commission on Air-Borne Infections (1941-1950). Along with Rous, he was also instrumental in establishing the first civilian blood bank in the United States at the Cook County Hospital. He remained at Chicago until retiring to emeritus status in 1951.

From the 1930s onward, Robertson was increasingly absorbed in projects only distantly related to his medical research. Having begun college intending on a career in biology, and following a holiday to the Wind River Mountains in Wyoming, Robertson indulged his interests in the ecology and physiology of the salmonid fishes. After his retirement from Chicago, he moved to California and took up research on fishes full time, culminating in an important experimental investigation of the salmonid endocrine system, based on the trout and salmon native to the area around Santa Cruz where he had settled.

He died in Santa Cruz on March 23, 1966, leaving his wife, Ruth, and three children.

Scope and content

The Robertson Papers contain correspondence, notes, articles, and notebooks, relating to Oswald Hope Robertson's diverse research interests, including his work on blood. In particular, the collection contains important information on Robertson's research on the cold storage of blood and blood banking, including both clinical notes on transfusion using preserved blood and animal research at the front during the First World War.

Aware of the commercial potential of his research, Robertson was involved with the Research Corporation (New York City) in securing patents on glycol vapors and air sterilizers, and with the same agency, kept notes and manuscripts on his morphine experiments, canine pneumococcus, Bacteremia, and the effects of hydrocortisone.

Finally, Robertson's interest in ecology is reflected in a journal and nine volumes of notebooks containing data collected in 1942 to 1944 while conducting a study of the trout and vegetation of lakes in the Wind River Range of northwestern Wyoming.

Administrative information

Restrictions

None.

Provenance

Gift of Ruth Robertson, 1970 (accession number 1970-1312ms).

Preferred citation

Cite as: Oswald Hope Robertson Papers, American Philosophical Society.

Additional information

Related material

The APS also houses the papers of Peyton Rous and several of Robertson's peers at the Rockefeller Institute, including James B. Murphy, Eugene Opie, Leon Cole, and Harold Amoss.

The Rockefeller Archive Center houses additional papers of Oswald Robertson.

References

Bibliographic references to works cited in the finding aid, implicitly or explicitly.