The first systematic course of lectures in pediatrics at Harvard Medical School was taught by Thomas Morgan Rotch in 1879-1880; Rotch was appointed to the chair in pediatrics in 1888, the first established in the country. He served as physician-in-chief at the Infants' Hospital on Blossom Street in the west end of Boston (established 1881) and the Children's Hospital on Huntington Avenue, Boston (established 1882) until his death in 1914. Rotch was succeeded by John Lovett Morse, who served as physician to the new Children's and Infants' Hospital on Longwood Avenue (opened 1914) and was head of the department of pediatrics from 1914 to 1921. During these years clinical work was maintained at Children's and Infants' Hospitals, the Floating Hospital, and the Convalescent Home in Wellesley. Staff specialists in pathology, neurology, dermatology, and anesthesiology were in attendance from before 1914, and the pediatric curriculum contained a diversity of subjects, including feeding, gastro-enteric diseases, children's growth patterns, and contagious diseases such as scarlet fever and measles.
From the description of Records of Department of Pediatrics, 1902-1921 (inclusive). (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 281436974
