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August Carl Schulenburg Papers

Historical Note

August Carl Schulenburg (1879-1964) was born shortly after his German father had moved to South Africa to serve as a medical missionary. Schulenburg spent the first two decades of his life in South Africa, and he was raised speaking both German and Afrikaans. The Anglo-Boer War began when he was twenty years old, and Schulenburg fought alongside the Boer forces against the British troops. In 1901, he was captured by the British and sent to a prisoner of war camp in Bermuda.

Upon his release at the conclusion of the war in 1902, Schulenburg decided to visit a few of his family members who had emigrated to the United States. While staying with his uncle in Missouri, Schulenburg decided to study medicine at the Washington University Medical Department in St. Louis in 1903. Schulenburg graduated in 1906, and then served a year-long internship at the St. Louis Mullanphy Hospital.

Schulenburg returned to South Africa in 1907. However, the British colonial government did not honor his American diploma, so he enrolled at Guy’s Hospital Medical College in London. After graduating medical school for a second time in 1909, Schulenburg returned to South Africa where he spent the remainder of his career working as a general practitioner.

Provenance

The papers of August Carl Schulenburg were given to Washington University by his son, Carl August Richard Schulenburg, of Pretoria, South Africa, in 1993.

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

August Carl Schulenburg was a graduate of the Washington University Medical Department in 1906, and he served as an intern at the St. Louis Mullanphy Hospital the following year. His papers and photographs afford a rare glimpse of medical education in the early 1900s from the perspective of a student and a young physician. The narrative entitled “Reminiscences of August Carl Schulenburg, 1902-1907” in Series 1 is an especially interesting and informative piece.

Preferred Citation

August Carl Schulenburg Papers, Washington University School of Medicine.

Related Material

The August Carl Schulenburg photographs collection (VC323) is also available in the Bernard Becker Medical Library. For additional information on Dr. Schulenburg, see: http://beckerexhibits.wustl.edu/mig/bios/schulenburg.html

Organization of the Collection (Series List)

Total Boxes: 1

Series 1: Miscellaneous, 1902-1988.

Series 2: Letters to Frieda Schulenburg, 1902-1907.

Container List

Series 1: Miscellaneous, 1902-1988.

Box 1

1.	Summary of the career of August Carl Schulenburg at the Washington University Medical School, St. Louis, 1903-1906.
	Note: This narrative was written by Dr. Schulenburg’s son, Carl August Richard Schulenburg of Pretoria, South Africa.
2.	Autograph album, 1902-1903.
3.	Diary, 1902-1907.
4.	Graduation program, Medical Department of Washington University, May 24, 1906.
5.	Transcript of record of A. C. Schulenburg, Medical Department of Washington University, 1908.
6.	Extracts from diary of A. C. Schulenburg, 1902.
	Note: These extracts have been photocopied. Much of the handwriting is indecipherable.
7.	Correspondence between Dr. Schulenburg’s son and Professor Phillip Tobias regarding Robert Terry and August Schulenburg, 1987-1988.
	Note: Folder includes article written by Phillip Tobias, “Memories of Robert James Terry (1871-1966) and the genesis of the Terry and Dart collections of human skeletons.”
8.	Washington University Student Life, 1904.
9.	Reminiscences of August Carl Schulenburg, 1902-1907, English translation by Dr. Schulenburg’s son, 1957.
10.	Reminiscences of August Carl Schulenburg, 1902-1907, original Afrikaans, undated.

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Series 2: Letters to Frieda Schulenburg, 1902-1907.

This series contains Dr. Schulenburg’s correspondence with his cousin, Frieda Schulenburg, of Minnesota.

Box 1

11.	1902.
	1 letter.
12.	1903.
	8 letters.
13.	1904.
	6 letters.
14.	1905.
	2 letters.
15.	1906.
	6 letters.
16.	1907.
	5 letters.

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