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Henry G. Schwartz Papers

Historical Note

Henry Gerard Schwartz (1909-1998) is remembered as one most important and influential American figures in the field of neurosurgery. His primary research interests were focused in anatomy, surgery, and physiology of the nervous system. Dr. Schwartz made important clinical contributions to neurosurgery in pain, intracranial aneurysms, and pituitary and cerbellopontine angle tumors. He designed one of the first spring vascular clips for aneurysm surgery and refined open surgical techniques for cervical cordotomy.

Born in New York City on March 11, 1909, he obtained a bachelor’s degree in 1928 from Princeton University. He then earned a medical degree from Johns Hopkins University in 1932. Dr. Schwartz began his career as a surgical house officer at Johns Hopkins. He then studied anatomy and neuroanatomy at Harvard University for three years as a National Research Council fellow.  Upon completion of his fellowship, he served as an anatomy instructor at Harvard Medical School before joining Washington University School of Medicine in 1936.

Dr. Schwartz spent the larger part of his career at Washington University, serving in a number of different positions: Fellow in Neurosurgery (1936-1937), Instructor (1937-1942), Assistant Professor in Neurosurgery (1942-1945), Associate Professor (1945-1946), Professor (1946-1970), Chairman of the Division of Neurological Surgery (1946-1974), and August A. Busch, Jr. Professor of Neurological Surgery (1970-1985). In addition to his academic appointments, Dr. Schwartz was acting Surgeon-in-Chief at Barnes Hospital from 1965 to 1967 and Chief Neurosurgeon at Barnes and St. Louis Children’s Hospital from 1946 to 1974. As a well-respected educator, his training program attracted many talented students to Washington University.

During World War II, Dr. Schwartz served as Assistant Chief of Surgery and Chief of Neurosurgery in the U.S. Army’s 21st General Hospital. During his service, he developed a method for handling wounds to the head and nerves that became standard procedure for the military. For this accomplishment, he received the prestigious Legion of Merit in 1945. Dr. Schwartz was honored numerous times throughout his career for his contributions to neurosurgery. Among his many other awards are the Harvey Cushing Medal from the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and the Distinguished Service Award from the American Board of Neurological Surgery.

In 1985, Dr. Schwartz was elected Honorary President of the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies. He also served as Chairman of the American Board of Neurological Surgery (1968-1970) and as President of the Southern Neurosurgical Society (1952-1953), the American Academy of Neurological Surgeons (1967-1968), and the Society of Neurological Surgeons (1968-1969).

Provenance

The Henry G. Schwartz Papers were donated to the Becker Medical Library Archives in three different accessions. The items in this collection were the gift of Dr. Henry G. Schwartz (Acc. 1993-048), the Department of Neurosurgery at Washington University (Acc. 1995-010), and the Henry G. Schwartz estate (Acc. 2000-006).

Access and Use

The collection is open and accessible for research. Certain categories of documentation, however, may carry restrictions on access. For detailed information, contact the Archives and Rare Book Department of the Becker Medical Library (arb@wusm.wustl.edu).

Scope and Content

The items in this collection represent different aspects of Dr. Schwartz’s personal and professional life. Series 1 (General Hospital 21) and Series 2 (Consultant in Neurosurgery, Vietnam) contain files relating to Dr. Schwartz’s military service. Another important segment of this collection is comprised of his lecture notes in Series 3. The remaining series include photographs, certificates, films and videotapes, memorabilia, and the many awards Dr. Schwartz received throughout his lifetime.

Preferred Citation

Henry G. Schwartz Papers, Washington University School of Medicine.

Related Material

The Henry G. Schwartz Photographs collection (VC102) is also available in the Bernard Becker Medical Library.

Organization of the Collection (Series List)

Total Boxes: 10

Series 1: General Hospital 21, 1943-1986. Boxes 1-3.

Series 2: Consultant in Neurosurgery, Vietnam, 1960-1981. Box 3.

Series 3: Lecture notes, 1941-1971. Boxes 4-6.

Series 4: Certificates, Diplomas, and Awards, 1928-1986. Boxes 7-8.

Series 5: Photographs. Box 8.

Series 6: Miscellaneous, 1953-1997. Boxes 8-9.

Series 7: Graduation Hoods. Box 10.

Container List

Series 1: General Hospital 21, 1943-1986. Boxes 1-3.

The items in this series relate to Dr. Schwartz’s service in WWII. During this time, he was a member of the surgical service for General Hospital 21.

Box 1 of 10

	Note: These files include reports concerning Dr. Schwartz’s patients with head injuries.
1.	A-K, 1943.
2.	L-Z, 1943-1944.
3.	L-Z, 1944-1945.
4.	Italy, A-K, 1944.
5.	Italy, K-Z, 1944.
6.	Italy, 95th Evac., 1944.
7.	British, 59th Evac., 1943.
8.	France, A-L, 1944-1945.

Box 2 of 10

1.	Lee D. Cady, 1982.
2.	Directory, General Hospital 21.
3.	General Hospital 21.
4.	General Hospital 21, 40th reunion, 1981.
5.	Manual of therapy, European theater of operations, 1944.
6.	Medical bulletin of the North African theater of operations, 1944.
7.	Narrative reports of head injuries suffered during war, 1945-1951.
8.	Nerve, peripheral, patient reports, A-L, 1943.
9.	Nerve, peripheral, patient reports, M-Z, 1943.
10.	Newspaper clippings, General Hospital 21.
11.	Poster presented to Dr. Schwartz, signed by colleagues and patients.
12.	Program, dinner honoring General Hospital 21 staff, 1945.
13.	Rouen Post.
14.	Short biography of Dr. Schwartz during WWII, written by James O’Leary, 1974.
15.	Twitty, William C., correspondence, 1960-1986.
	Includes photograph of William Twitty and Dr. Schwartz

Box 3 of 10

1.	General Hospital 21 photographs (VC102001-VC102068).
	Note: See the Henry G. Schwartz photograph collection.

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Series 2: Consultant in Neurosurgery, Vietnam, 1960-1981. Box 3.

This series contains materials relating to Dr. Schwartz’s service as a consultant to the Surgeon General during the Vietnam conflict.

Box 3 of 10

1.	Civilian consultant in neurosurgery to Surgeon General, Vietnam, 1960-1981.
2.	Report to the Surgeon General, Consultant’s tour to the East and Southeast Asia, 1967.
3.	Military Neurosurgical Society of the United States, undated.
4.	History of the United States Army Medical Department in WWII, 1961.
5.	Vietnam, 1968-1977.

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Series 3: Lecture notes, 1941-1971. Boxes 4-6.

The items in this series include journal articles, handwritten notes, and bibliographies that Dr. Schwartz used for his lectures. Some of the folders include the transcript of the lecture, including those he gave at meetings for various professional organizations.

Box 4 of 10

1.	Acoustic tumors, 1957.
2.	Actinomycosis, 1950.
3.	Aneurysm, 1955.
4.	Aneurysms, “Evaluation of surgical treatment of intracranial aneurysms,” 1951.
	Note: This lecture was given at the 1951 meeting of the American College of Surgeons.
5.	Angiography, 1962.
6.	Berlin, lectures, 1962.
7.	Bilateral acoustic tumors, 1953.
8.	Brain abscess, 1956.
9.	Brain tumor, 1948.
10.	Brain tumors, metastatic, 1959.

Box 5 of 10

1.	Carotid occlusion/stroke, 1959-1971.
2.	Cerebellopontine angle tumors, 1958.
	Note: This lecture was given at the 10th Annual Institute in Psychiatry and Neurology.
3.	Cerebellum, anatomy lecture notes, undated.
4.	Cerebrospinal fluid, undated.
5.	Cervical nerve roots, anastomoses, undated.
6.	Elderly, neurosurgical problems, 1971.
7.	Electrolytes, 1954.
8.	Gross anatomy, undated.
9.	Head injuries, 1963.
10.	Hemispherectomy, 1952.
11.	Hemorrhage, 1969.
12.	Hypertension, 1943.
13.	Hypophysectomy, 1958.
14.	Hypothermia, 1959.
15.	Lobotomy, 1974.
16.	Nerve injuries, undated.
17.	Ophthalmology lecture, undated.
18.	Pain, 1971.

Box 6 of 10

1.	Radioactive gold, 1962.
2.	Relation of neuropathology to neurosurgery, 1967.
3.	Ruptured discs, 1954.
4.	Ruptured intervertebral disc, questionnaire, 1950.
5.	“Section of the spinothalamic tract in the medulla with observations on the pathway for pain,” 1941.
6.	Spinal cord injuries, 1956.
7.	Trigeminal neuralgia, 1960.
8.	Tumors of the nervous system, neuropathology outline, 1941.
9.	Vein of galen, undated.

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Series 4: Certificates, Diplomas, and Awards, 1928-1986. Boxes 7-8.

This series includes the various honors and awards given to Dr. Schwartz. Each of the awards were removed from their frames and placed into acid-free folders for long-term preservation. Note that only a photocopy of the original award exists for the items marked [copy].

Box 7 of 10

1.	Certificate, Alpha Omega Alpha, member, 1932.
2.	Certificate, American College of Surgeons, fellow, 1946.
3.	Certificate, American Neurological Association, honorary member, 1981.
4.	Certificate, American Surgical Society, member, 1966.
5.	Certificate, Congress of Neurological Surgeons, honorary member, 1973.
6.	Certificate, Johns Hopkins Society of Scholars, 1976.
7.	Certificate, Johns Hopkins University, William Henry Howell award, 1931.
8.	Certificate, Office of the Secretary of Defense, 1986.
9.	Certificate, Seoul National University, 1967.
10.	Certificate, Washington University Medical Center Alumni Association, distinguished service award, 1993.
11.	Diploma, Johns Hopkins University, Doctor of Medicine, 1932.
12.	Diploma, Princeton University, bachelor in biology, 1928.

Box 8 of 10

1.	Certificate, Alpha Omega Alpha, undated.
2.	Certificate, American Academy of Neurological Surgery, member, 1942.
3.	Certificate [copy], American Academy of Neurology, associate member, 1956.
4.	Certificate, American Association of Neurological Surgeons, undated.
5.	Certificate [copy], American Board of Neurological Surgery, distinguished service award, undated.
6.	Certificate, American Board of Neurological Surgery, 1942.
7.	Certificate, Harvey Cushing Society, active member, 1946.
8.	Certificate, Neurological Society, Republic of China (Taiwan), undated.
9.	Certificate [copy], Philippine Association of Military Surgeons, 1967.
10.	Certificate, St. Louis Medical Society, honorary membership, 1976.
11.	Certificate, St. Louis Metropolitan Medical Society, award of merit, 1982.
12.	Plaque [copy], American Academy of Neurological Surgery, president, 1952.
13.	Plaque [copy], Harvey Cushing Medal, 1979.
14.	Plaque [copy], Society of Neurological Surgeons, undated.

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Series 5: Photographs. Box 8.

This series consists of 16 photographs of Dr. Schwartz’s colleagues. Originally, the photographs in this series were individually framed, but have now been placed into acid-free folders for preservation. Many of the photographs are signed.

Box 8 of 10

15.	Edward J. Churchill. (VC102069)
16.	Carl and Gerti Cori. (VC102070)
17.	Robert Elman. (VC102071)
18.	Joseph Erlanger. (VC102072)
19.	Otfrid Foerster. (VC102073)
20.	Otto Folin. (VC102074)
21.	John W. Gowen. (VC102075)
22.	Evarts Graham. (VC102076)
23.	Jim O’Leary. (VC102077)
24.	J. Lawrence Pool. (VC102078)
	Note: Post card with portrait of J. Lawrence Pool.
25.	Ernest Sachs. (VC102079)
26.	Sidney Schwab. (VC102080)
27.	Dr. Schwartz and Ronald Reagan. (VC102081)
28.	Dr. Schwartz and Avist Steuder. (VC102082)
29.	Joyce Stearns. (VC102083)
30.	George Wislock. (VC102084)

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Series 6: Miscellaneous, 1953-1997. Boxes 8-9.

The items in this series are comprised of a small folder of correspondence, research materials for a paper on Otfrid Foerster, 16mm films, and various awards and paraphernalia including five medals awarded to Dr. Schwartz.

Box 8 of 10

31.	Correspondence, 1970-1997.
	Ludwig Kempe
	Helmut Penzholz
	David Sabiston
	W. L. Sugg
	Frank Turnbull
32.	Otfrid Foerster.
33.	Hand-drawn sketch of brain.

Box 9 of 10

1.	Award, Harvey Cushing Medal, American Association of Neurological Surgeons, outstanding service to neurosurgery and the association, 1979.
2.	Award, Fellows Leadership Society, American College of Surgeons, life member.
3.	Award, Society of Neurological Surgeons.
	Plaque reads: “Henry Gerard Schwartz, M.D., elected 1950, senior 1969, president elect 1967-1968, president 1968-1969.”
4.	Decorative plate, presented to Dr. Schwartz in appreciation for developing neuroscience in the Republic of China.
5.	Film (16mm) “high cervical cordotomy.”
	Note: 4 copies
6.	Film (16mm) “trigeminal gangliolysis.”
7.	Glass slides used for presentation to Audrain County Medical Society, 1969.
8.	Medal, Academy of Science of St. Louis.
	Note: Two medals.
9.	Medal, Daniel Petit-Dutaillis, Salpetriere Hospital.
10.	Medal, Harvey Cushing Medal, American Association of Neurological Surgeons, 1979.
11.	Medal, Society of Scholars, Johns Hopkins University, 1976.
12.	Medal, Southern Neurosurgical Society, president, 1953.
13.	Statuette of Johns Hopkins, presented to Dr. Schwartz by the Johns Hopkins University Alumni Association, 1973.

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Series 7: Graduation Hoods. Box 10.

This series contains two hoods used by Dr. Schwartz in graduation ceremonies.

Box 10 of 10

1.	Large hood.
	Description: Black with green trim and has a wide gold stripe.
2.	Small hood.
	Description: Black with white trim and has a yellow diamond pattern along the edge.

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