Lewis H. Weed Collection

Biography

Lewis H. Weed was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He received his B.A. in 1908 and his M.A. in 1909, both from Yale University, and his M.D. in 1912 from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. After his graduation from medical school, Weed served two years as Arthur Tracy Cabot Fellow in charge of surgical research at Harvard University, under his former professor Harvey Cushing. In 1914, he returned to Johns Hopkins as instructor of anatomy in the school of medicine; in 1919, he was named head of the department. Weed served as dean of the school of medicine from 1923 until 1929, and as director of the medical school until 1946. In 1939, Weed was appointed chairman of the Division of Medical Sciences of the National Research Council. In 1947, he resigned his Johns Hopkins posts in order to devote more attention to this position. Weed’s research dealt largely with cerebrospinal fluid and with the development of the membranes that surround the central nervous system. He discovered the origin of the cerebrospinal fluid and mapped out its circulation, an accomplishment which led to a number of important clinical developments.

Scope and Content

The Lewis H. Weed Collection covers Weed’s work in the department of anatomy and his tenure as dean and director of the School of Medicine. It contains correspondence, committee records and reports, administrative records, research records, surveys, lectures, and addresses. There is extensive correspondence with Harvey Cushing (1914-1939), William H. Welch (1920-1934), and Florence Sabin (1919-1951). Material related to planning and building new facilities, such as the school of hygiene and the Welch Medical Library, highlight the collection. A special campaign entitled the Half-Century Fund (1924-1926) is documented with supporting lectures and addresses, marking progress and making plans for the future of Johns Hopkins medicine. The collection is strong in documenting Weed’s research on cerebrospinal fluid and his other interests in the field of anatomy. Additional Weed correspondence may be found in the papers of Florence Sabin.

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