J. Alex Haller Collection

Biography

J. Alex Haller, Jr., was born in Pulaski, Virginia. He earned his B.A. in 1947 from Vanderbilt University and his M.D. in 1951 from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. After his residency in the Halsted surgical service at Johns Hopkins, Haller was on the faculty at the University of Louisville and a pediatric surgeon at Louisville Children’s Hospital. He returned to Johns Hopkins in 1963 to join the school of medicine faculty in pediatrics, pediatric surgery, and emergency medicine. He was Children’s-Surgeon-in-Charge of Johns Hopkins Hospital from 1964 until 1997. Haller maintained an interest in surgical problems of children, with a special focus on the treatment of congenital chest wall deformities, pediatric cardio-thoracic surgery, and systems of care for children with serious injuries. He established the regional trauma center for children at Johns Hopkins, the first such program of its kind in the United States, and established a training program for pediatric surgeons.

Scope and Content

The J. Alex Haller Collection includes certificates regarding his appointments to government or academic posts, such as his designation as surgeon in the Public Health Service of the U.S. Reserve Corps (1965). Additions to the collection include books, meeting files; files on topics such as trauma, gun violence, medical ethics; correspondence related to the Halsted Centennial Celebration in 1952; search committee files related to the Chaplaincy at Johns Hopkins and the Clinical Pastoral Education program; some student and personnel files; Surgery budgets; some legal files; Robert Garrett Board files; photographs (mostly portraits) and numerous binders and carousels of slides; medical Illustrations (many by Leon Schlossberg); artifacts, awards, and plaques; and a binder of Dr. Haller’s reprints. Also of interest are a Vivien Thomas Portrait File, Anna the Dog Portrait File, and Mark Rogers PICU Director File.

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