Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine

The Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine opened in 1965 in Boston, Mass. and represents the consolidated collections of the Harvard Medical Library and the Boston Medical Library.

The Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, dedicated in 1965, was designed by Hugh Stubbins Associates of Cambridge. It was created from in 1960 from a formal agreement uniting the Boston Medical Library and the Harvard Medical School Library. The library is named in memory of Francis A. Countway, a prominent businessman and former CEO of Lever Brothers, Incorporated. The library serves the Harvard Medical, Public Health, and Dental Schools, the Boston Medical Library, and the Massachusetts Medical Society.

"On coming to the New World and the sunshine of freedom from troubled Armenia at the age of 15, my original desire was to be a physician. This was not meant to be. But I have had the supreme joy of portraying with my camera those men and women who are devoted to the art and the science of healing. I have had the privilege of being welcomed into their consultation rooms, operating theatres, and laboratories where significant advances for the benefit of human welfare were being accomplished. Although these men and women differ in outlook and personality, they are united by their common desire to relieve suffering, whether of the body or the spirit. I am proud and happy that this photographic collection, 'Healers of Our Age' - the first portfolio in an ongoing series for the benefit of the Oliver Wendell Holmes Endowment - will assist in the preservation, enhancement and accessibility of our medical historical heritage." - Yousuf Karsh

The Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine holds the collections of the Harvard Medical Library and the Boston Medical Library. The union of these two institutions was formed in 1958 as the result of a substantial gift of Sanda Countway in memory of her brother, Francis A. Countway, the former president of Lever Brothers, Inc. The agreement between the two libraries combined each of their staffs, services, and collections into one modern biomedical library facility. The Library was completed in 1965 and since then has served as a resource of modern and historical information in clinical medicine, the biomedical sciences, dentistry, and public health to students and faculty of the Harvard Medical School, School of Dental Medicine, and School of Public Health, affiliated institutions, members and fellows of the Boston Medical Library and Massachusetts Medical Society, and the scholarly community around the world.

The Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine holds the collections of the Harvard Medical Library and the Boston Medical Library. The union of these two institutions was formed in 1958 as the result of a substantial gift of Sanda Countway in memory of her brother, Francis A. Countway, the former president of Lever Brothers, Inc. The agreement between the two libraries combined each of their staffs, services, and collections into one modern biomedical library facility. The Library was completed in 1965 and since then has served as a resource of modern and historical information in clinical medicine, the biomedical sciences, dentistry, and public health to students and faculty of the Harvard Medical School, School of Dental Medicine, and School of Public Health, affiliated institutions, members and fellows of the Boston Medical Library and Massachusetts Medical Society, and the scholarly community around the world.

The Harvard School of Public Health was founded in 1922 as the successor to the Harvard-M.I.T. School for Health Officers, the nation's first graduate program in public health.

The Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine holds the collections of the Harvard Medical Library and the Boston Medical Library. The union of these two institutions was formed in 1958 as the result of a substantial gift of Sanda Countway in memory of her brother, Francis A. Countway, the former president of Lever Brothers, Inc. The agreement between the two libraries combined each of their staffs, services, and collections into one modern biomedical library facility. The Library was completed in 1965 and since then has served as a resource of modern and historical information in clinical medicine, the biomedical sciences, dentistry, and public health to students and faculty of the Harvard Medical School, School of Dental Medicine, and School of Public Health, affiliated institutions, members and fellows of the Boston Medical Library and Massachusetts Medical Society, and the scholarly community around the world.

These images were selected from the Francis A. Countway Library Center for the History of Medicine's collection of photographs and prints depicting buildings, facilities, physicians, and staff of Harvard Medical School's affiliated hospitals, known as the "Picture Collection."

Harvard Medical School has never designated a single hospital as its primary teaching facility. Instead, Harvard Medical School has made arrangements with hospitals in and around Boston over the years in order to take advantage of the many and varied specialized opportunities for clinical instruction. Since the early part of the twentieth century, major teaching hospitals of Harvard Medical School have included Beth Israel Hospital, Boston City Hospital, Boston Hospital for Women, Boston Lying-in Hospital, Boston Sanitorium, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Cambridge Hospital, Children’s Hospital, Collis P. Huntington Memorial Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Free Hospital for Women, House of the Good Samaritan, Infants’ Hospital, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Massachusetts General Hospital Massachusetts Mental Health Center, Mount Auburn Hospital, New England Deaconess Hospital, Peter Brent Brigham Hospital, and Sharon Sanitarium.