Today, hearing aids are small enough to sit behind your ear or slip in your ear canal, but they weren’t always so diminutive or discreet. If you used a hearing aid in the 1930s and 1940s, you wouldn’t just have a receiver in your ear—that receiver would be connected to two bulky units: one piece [Read more]
The Becker Archives is pleased to announce the acquisition of over 3,500 historical postcards featuring current and former hospitals in the St. Louis and American Midwest geographical area. This incredible collection was donated to the Becker Archives by Dr. Hilton I. Price, a long-time postcard enthusiast and BJC HealthCare radiologist who was associated with Christian Hospital [Read more]
The Washington University School of Medicine Oral Histories can now be found at the Digital Commons@Becker, the institutional repository managed by the Bernard Becker Medical Library.
In April 2025, the Center for Health and Science Communication at Becker Library hosted a #SciComm Seminar titled “Communicating Effectively with Policymakers.” Ross C. Brownson, Steven H. and Susan U. Lipstein Distinguished Professor of Public Health, presented a basic communication model and discussed its application to communicating evidence-based public health knowledge with local, state, and [Read more]
For the past several years, the Center for the History of Medicine has sponsored a week-long trip abroad for students with an interest in medical history. While the first iterations of this program were offered for Phase I students, this year marks the first time it was incorporated into an elective for Phase III students. [Read more]
A fountain pouring blood instead of wine. A blood-red moon and blood raining from the sky. The capture of a fish that looks like a lion. What do these unsettling events portend? The answers can be found in a compilation of early modern religious propaganda by the German preacher Heinrich Oraeus (1584-1646). Oraeus was a [Read more]
Send your science-loving sweetie a valentine from Becker Archives and Rare Books!
As the United States and the Soviet Union vied for global dominance during the Cold War, they also engaged in scientific and technical exchanges—including in the fields of health and medicine. These exchanges ranged from informal delegations to state-sponsored visits, and they often included scientists affiliated with universities and hospitals. Read more about how Washington [Read more]
Archivists, Rare Books Librarians, and Library IT staff have been hard at work revamping our digital exhibition space. Some of our older exhibits have been migrated to the new platform, Omeka S, and others have been given a bit of a refresh. And now that the archivists and librarians have spent some time familiarizing themselves [Read more]
Reproductive rights in America are constantly changing. But how did we get here? Historical context can help us understand our current moment and even possible futures. Becker Library has a variety of historic materials that shed light on the history of reproductive rights at WashU and in St. Louis.