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 Victor McKusick

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Victor A. McKusick was born in 1921 in Parkman, Maine. Dr. McKusick attended Tufts University from 1940 to 1942. However, because of World War II, Johns Hopkins Medical School had a lack of students and so suspended the requirement of a baccalaureate degree in order to apply for admission to the medical school. McKusick applied for admission to Johns Hopkins Medical School in his sixth semester of undergraduate studies and was accepted, graduating in 1946. Dr. McKusick is known for his work as the University Professor of Medical Genetics and the Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital as well as for his work as the chief editor of Mendelian Inheritance of Man (MIM). In this history, Dr. McKusick discusses his time at and contributions to Johns Hopkins University. This oral history is 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.