Tag: West Virginia
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J. Marion Sims and the reputation-character distinction
Jack E. Riggs Matthew S. Smith Morgantown, West Virginia, United States J. Marion Sims (1813-1883) Sims’ reputation during his life garnished national and international awards and recognition. Image via Wikimedia. Public domain. “Reputation is what men and women think of us; character is what God and angels know of us.” — Thomas Paine (likely…
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Discrimination: From Blues to Amazing Grace to sleeves
Lauren E. Hill Walnut Cove, North Carolina, United States Jack E. Riggs Morgantown, West Virginia, United States Combat support hospital sailors wearing sleeves down (Army way). Three-star admiral (far right) wearing sleeves up (Navy way). Author (far left), hospital commanding officer. In a “sleeves down” world, life may be easier blending in. “Collective fear…
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“An ounce of prevention”: past and present
Jack E. Riggs Morgantown, West Virginia, United States Donald R. Newcomer Glendale, Arizona, United States Benjamin Franklin 1706–1790. Writer, publisher, philosopher, postmaster, scientist, diplomat. The Saying “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” is commonly attributed to Franklin. Image credit: Painting by Joseph Duplessis, circa 1785. National Portrait Gallery NPG.87.43. Via…
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Memories of a West Virginia coal camp
Calvin KuninColumbus, Ohio, United States This is a brief account of my experience as a physician at a coal mining camp in rural West Virginia. It is based on my memory of events that took place almost seventy years ago but remain vivid in my mind. The adventure began the day I graduated from medical…
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Harriet Tubman, Joan of Arc, and Moses
Faraze A. Niazi Jack E. Riggs Morgantown, West Virginia, United States Harriet Tubman 1822 – 1913 Slave, abolitionist, activist. Suggested to have had visions and dreams as manifestations of temporal lobe epilepsy. Via the Library of Congress. Listen to my words: “When there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, reveal myself to them in visions,…
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“Gentlemen! This is no humbug.”
Summer A. Niazi Jack E. Riggs Morgantown, West Virginia, United States First Operation Under Ether, by Robert C. Hinckley, Boston Medical Library in the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, 1882-1893 (Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology) Source The words “Gentlemen! This is no humbug” is one of the most famous statements in the history of…
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Sir Victor Horsley’s fatal blind spot
Faraze A. Niazi Jack E. Riggs Morgantown, West Virginia, United States Sir Victor Horsley. Photograph by G.C. Beresford. Credit: Wellcome Collection. (CC BY 4.0) A belief is not merely an idea the mind possesses; it is an idea that possesses the mind. -Robert Oxton Bolton Sir Victor Horsley is generally regarded as the…