Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: Colin Phoon

  • The remarkable Harriet Lane

    Colin K. L. PhoonNew York, New York, United States The name “Harriet Lane” is well-known to many pediatricians, but perhaps fewer recognize this woman’s other roles in US history (Hint: She was not a pediatrician!). In fact, the US presidency, the military, and pediatric medicine are all linked to the name “Harriet Lane.” Who was…

  • The origins of pediatrics as a clinical and academic specialty in the United States

    Colin PhoonNew York, USA In the long timeline of medicine, pediatrics is a recent clinical field. The first children’s hospital in the world was established in Paris in 1802, followed by the Hospital for Sick Children on Great Ormond Street in London in 1852.1 Rightfully so, many ascribe the birth of American pediatrics to the…