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[Identification of item], Watson Smith Rankin Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.
The Watson Smith Rankin Papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library as a gift in 1971.
Processed by Rubenstein Library staff, January 1971.
Encoded by Carrie Mills, May 2011.
Accession(s) described in this finding aid: 1-22-71, 2-12-74, 1-2-82, 11-11-83, 10-1-86
Descriptive sources and standards used to create this inventory:
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
Watson smith Rankin was a Professor of Pathology; Dean of Wake Forest Medical School; Secretary of the N.C. State Board of Health; and Director of the Hospital and Orphan Section of the Duke Endowment.
Correspondence, legal and financial papers, memorabilia, speeches, clippings, printed materials, photographs, and a diary, all relating to the life and career of Dr. Watson Smith Rankin. Correspondence is chiefly between Dr. Rankin and his son, Jesse, friends and other relatives, and professional colleagues; much of the material concerns administrative aspects of medicine related to the Duke Endowment and the State Board of Health. Many of the writings, lectures, and speeches discuss hospital reform, and some concern philosophical and religious issues. Financial papers record stock transactions, salaries, taxes, and philanthropic activities of Dr. Rankin. There are also several transcripts of interviews which provide biographical details. Other items include a diary entitled "Of official relations to the Methodist Home," photographs of the Duke Endowment trustees and of several N.C. governors, and Rankin's writings on Dr. John Atkinson Ferrell, who served in the Rockefeller Foundation's health division. Also includes a 1932 report by the Commission on the Costs of Medical Care, entitled "An outline program of medical care for the People of the United States."
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