Temple University School of Medicine - Skull Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

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ENGLISH, M.D.

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 L-------- — Jicallon IN RECOGNITION OF HIS INDEFATIGABLE SPIRIT. HIS UNSHAKABLE BELIEF IN STUDENTS AND IN APPRE' CIATION OF HIS CONSIDERATE COUNSEL. HIS EXAMPLE OF THE FULL LIFE. THIS “1945 SKULL” IS DEDICATED TO PHYSICIAN. TEACHER. HUMAN I-TARIAN. DOCTOR O. SPURGEON ENGLISH. OUR PROFESSOR OF PSYCHIATRY. O. SPURGEON

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DIt. O. KPUUUtiOX IX.IINII AS SHAKESPEARE has left us with the immortal thought that some men are born great, others achieve greatness, while still others have greatness thrust upon them, we the Class of 1945 consider it a distinct privilege to dedicate this record of our medical school careers to one. whom we feel was not born in great circumstances nor had greatness thrust upon him, but who has achieved the distinction and honor of his position through his own ambition and native abilities, Dr. O. Spurgeon English. Professor and Head of the Department of Psychiatry. It was during those memorable first few days back in August of 1942 that the Class of 1945 and Dr. English met. It was a meeting steeped in the atmosphere of critical surveillance and suspicion that only a group of over-cautious freshmen can confer upon a new professor. However, as the tall, well-dressed, handsome gentleman stood before us and with well chosen words introduced us to his subject. Psychiatry, we soon found ourselves laughing with him when some humorous incident was related, and presently here and there about the room someone was whispering to his neighbor, Say this guy is all right! Before the close of the period the decision was unanimous; Dr. English had won the respect and friendship of 125 freshmen. And with the passing of four years here at Temple, he has kept our respect; he has kept our friendship, for he has been more than a professor who has taught us well ... he has been a friend who is vitally interested in our making satisfactory adjustments to our own life problems. As a class, we probably know Dr. English as well as we do any other man on the Temple University Medical School staff. One might attribute this desirable relationship to many things but probably paramount are a friendly manner, an attractive personality, and his never-too-busy-to-talk-to-you attitude which go far toward making you feel that you know him. And certainly there was that unforgettable Saturday night during our sophomore year when Dr. and Mrs. English threw open the doors of their beautiful Righter's Mill home and graciously welcomed and delightfully entertained our class in its entirety. It was indeed a rousing convivial affair with beer and cokes, music and singing and still remains in the opinion of many of us as THE social event of our stay here. What greater tribute can we pay it or justification for it make than to say that statistics showed a class average rise of upwards of ten points in exams taken during the following two weeks. But for all this congeniality there is much about this prominent man of which we the class and you the reader are not aware. The son of a farmer, O. Spurgeon English was born in Presque Isle. Maine on September 27. 1901. It was in this little town that the psychiatrist-to-be spent his younger days helping his father run the potato farm, fishing during his leisure time, and finally graduating from high school in 1918. It was while in high school that he spontaneously and with considerable finality decided that medicine would be his chosen field. The first step toward the realization of this achievement was two years spent at the University of Maine studying the pre-medical sciences, and we can well imagine that the high degree of positive socialization that this erstwhile boy from the farm exhibits Ten