Oral history of Louise Cavagnaro

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Louise Cavagnaro, originally from Portland, Oregon, was a major figure in the history of the Johns Hopkins Hospital for the last half of the twentieth century. She served as an operating nurse in combat zones during World War II and the director of nursing in Hiroshima with the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission, after which she earned an M.A. in Hospital Administration from Columbia University and came to work at Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1953. She filled many roles during her time teaching and administrating in the Hospital, as well as the School of Nursing. Most notably, it was Cavagnaro who led the charge to desegregate the Hospital and its affiliate institutions, about which she wrote a book in 1992 titled "A History of Segregation and Desegregation at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions." In this oral history, Cavagnaro describes the challenges of being a female in the male-dominated medical milieu of the 1950s, the Johns Hopkins Hospital and how it has changed over time, and the racial politics of the Hospital. This oral history is part of the Mame Warren oral histories series.

Oral history of Martha Hill

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Martha Hill earned a diploma from the Johns Hopkins Hospital School of Nursing in 1964 and received her bachelor's degree from the university in 1966. She earned a master's in nursing from the University of Pennsylvania in 1977 and a doctorate in behavioral sciences in 1986 from what is now the Bloomberg School of Public Health. She served as dean of the School of Nursing for more than a decade and was formerly the president of the American Heart Association. She is also a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and holds joint faculty appointments in the School of Medicine and the School of Public Health. In this oral history, Hill describes her time as a nursing student in the 1960s, her medical career, and her work with the School of Nursing as a faculty member and dean, as well as changes in the practice of medicine generally over time. This oral history is part of the Mame Warren oral histories series.

Oral history of Richard Macksey

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Richard Macksey was born in 1931. He received his B.A from Johns Hopkins in 1953 and earned his Ph.D. from the University in 1957. Macksey went on to work for the university as a professor teaching critical theory, comparative literature and film studies. He also served as the co-founder and director of the Johns Hopkins University Humanities Center. Macksey is also known for his extensive private library, which is home to more than 70,000 books and manuscripts. In this interview, Macksey recounts Hopkins' early history and those who were instrumental in shaping it. This oral history is a part of the Mame Warren oral histories series.

Oral history of Richard Ross

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Richard S. Ross was born in Richmond, Indiana. He began attending Harvard in 1942 and was able to enter Harvard Medical School shortly thereafter because of the accelerated program that had been made available as a result of World War II. He graduated cum laude and went on to take an internship on the Osler Medical Service at Johns Hopkins. After spending time in the Army Medical Corps and Harvard, Ross returned to Hopkins to take a position as a chief medical resident. Ross's expertise was in the field of cardiology, as he developed coronary cineangiography and was also asked to give an opinion on former President Richard Nixon's cardiovascular health prior to the Watergate hearings. In this history, Dr. Ross discusses his love for the Hopkins School of Medicine and his thoughts on the program's progress. This oral history is part of the Mame Warren oral history.

Oral history of Levi Watkins

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Levi Watkins, Jr. was born in Parsons, Kansas. He completed his undergraduate work at Tennessee State University, where he majored in biology. He went on to become the first African American to be admitted to the Vanderbilt School of Medicine. Despite facing enormous prejudice, Watkins graduated in 1970. He completed his medical internship at Johns Hopkins, where he was the first black intern. He then went to study at Harvard Medical School's Department of Physiology. There, he completed revolutionary research on congestive heart failure. In 1975, Watkins returned to Hopkins and became Hopkins' first black chief resident in heart surgery. Watkins notably performed the first implantation of an automatic heart defibrillator. In this history, Watkins discusses his experiences as an African-American in the medical field in the middle of the 20th century as well as his career and education. This oral history is part of the Mame Warren oral histories series.

Oral history of Cathy DeAngelis

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Dr. Catherine DeAngelis is a professor emerita of pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and professor of health policy and management at the School of Public Health. She was the first woman editor-in-chief of the Journal of the American Medical Association. She received her M.D. from the University of Pittsburgh's School of Medicine, her M.S. in Public Health from the Harvard Graduate School of Public Health, and completed her pediatric specialty training at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. Dr. DeAngelis also has been awarded seven honorary doctorate degrees and received numerous awards for humanitarianism and medical excellence. In this oral history, DeAngelis describes how she came to teach at Hopkins, the character and advancements of the medical school and the school of public health, her experiences as a woman in the male-dominated field of medicine, and her medical colleagues. This oral history is part of the Mame Warren oral histories series.

Oral history of Marjorie Lewisohn

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Marjorie Lewisohn was born in 1918 in Manhattan. She graduated from the University of Michigan in 1940 and went on to complete her degree in medicine at Johns Hopkins University in 1943. In her early career, she spent time treating tuberculosis at Bellevue Hospital. By the 1950s, Dr. Lewisohn had gone into private practice while still maintaining staff physician positions at both Lenox Hill Hospital and Doctor's Hospital as well as a clinical professorship at the New York Hospital- Cornell University Medical Center. She rekindled her connection with Johns Hopkins in 1972, when she began her 18-year tenure as a trustee of Johns Hopkins University. She was the first female trustee of the university. In this history, Lewisohn recounts her experiences as a woman at the Hopkins Medical School in the early 1940s. This oral history is a part of the Mame Warren oral histories series.