Martin H. Wittenborg Collection

Biography

Martin Herman “Dick” Wittenborg was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He was the son of August H. Wittenborg and Ida E. Schuck. His father received his medical education in Germany and was a professor at the University of Tennessee medical school. Martin Wittenborg attended Southwestern College in Memphis from 1931 to 1932 before transferring to Harvard College where he received his A.B. in 1935. He received his M.D. from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1939. He completed his internship and residency in medicine at the University of Michigan Hospital at Ann Arbor from 1939 to 1941. He completed a residency in pathology at New England Deaconess Hospital from 1943 to 1944, followed by a three year consolidated training program in radiology at Peter Bent Brigham, Children’s and New England Deaconess Hospitals. He remained in Boston and specialized in pediatric radiology at Children’s Hospital working with his colleague Edward Neuhauser. He was appointed to the faculty in radiology at Harvard Medical School in 1950. His scientific writings dealt with radiology in relation to congenital heart disease, skeletal growth and malformations. At the time of his death in 1969, he was scheduled to succeed Neuhauser as the chief of the department of radiology at Children’s Hospital. He was a charter member of the International Society for Pediatric Radiology and the president of the National Society for Pediatric Radiology, the New England Roentgen Ray Society, and the Children’s Hospital Staff Associates. Wittenborg also was a consultant in radiology for the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurement, the National Research Council, the National Science Foundation, National Institute of Health, the Pan American Sanitary Bureau, and the World Health Organization. Wittenborg married Harriett Johnson and had a son, Peter, and three daughters, Gretchen, Karin, and Anya. The family owned and restored a 18th century farm in Framingham, Massachusetts.

Scope and Content

The Martin H. Wittenborg Collection consists of correspondence, biographical records, and a photographic album. Correspondence primarily to his father August Wittenborg describes his experiences as a medical student and intern and his everyday activities from the years 1935 to 1940. Letters describe the courses, curriculum, and individual faculty members. A photograph album consists of photographs of Johns Hopkins faculty members and Wittenborg family photographs. The collection also includes his diploma from the Johns Hopkins University in 1939 and a curriculum vitae.

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