Jefferson Medical College - Clinic Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

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THE CLINIC NINETEEN-SIXTEEN In 1890 Dr. Brubaker was appointed by the Board of Trustees of the Jefferson Medical College to continue the course of lectures on Therapeutics, Dr. Roberts Bartholow, the professor of that subject, being too ill to fill the duties of the chair. That Dr. Brubaker was eminently qualified for this work bespeaks his versatility in various fields of natural science. Furthermore he had conducted the experimental work in the laboratory of experimental therapeutics from 1887 to 1890. On the opening of the Drexel Institute of Science, Art and Industry in 1891, Dr. Brubaker was tendered the lectureship on Physiology and Hygiene, which he accepted and occupied until 1911, the value of his teaching there being testified to by the large number of students always in attendance in his department, and by the large audiences which attend his public lectures. I - As a still further mark of appreciation on the part of the Board of Trustees of the value of Dr. Brubaker's teaching, he was elected Adjunct iProfessor of Physiology and Hygiene at jefferson in 1897. Generous and enthusiastic in the development of his work, he has contributed largely of his energyuand means to the organization and equip- ment of the Vanuxem Physiologic Laboratory for Teaching and Research. In 1909 Dr. Brubaker was elected to full Professorship of Physiology and Medical jurisprudence. U The fullness of Dr. Brubaker's professional equipment is very evident in his many contributions to physiologic sciences and medical literature, which have appeared from time to time in International System of Electro-Therapeutics, American System of Den- tistry, Progressive Medicilne, Dental Brief, Journal of the American .Medical Association, Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, and other current literature. As an author Dr. Brubaker is noted for his Compend of Human Physiology, now in its fourteenth edition, largely used by students throughout the United Statesg Laboratory Manual of Physiologic Exercises, a clearly outlined guide for laboratory experimental Work, Text-Book of Physiology, now in the fifth edition, which is the standard book recommended for use in many of the medical schools, and other educa- tional institutions as well. Dr. Brubaker is claimed as a member of many scientific organizations, fraternal orders and social groups, among these may be mentioned the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, Academy of Natural Sciences, American Philosophical Society, American Physiological Society, the University Club, the Contemporary Club, and numerous Medical and Dental Societies. I There is no healthier or more stimulating lecturer to students and young medical men. Characteristic of Dr. Brubaker as a teacher for thirty-five years has been his method of giving such lucid lectures with an entire absence of nonsense, with rare humor, with delicacyof feeling and unfailing kindness. First, he possesses a full personal knowl- edge of the branch he teaches-not a second-hand information derived from books, but the living experience derived from experimental and practical work. And second, enthusiasm-that deep love of a subject, that desire to teach and extend it without which all instruction becomes cold and lifeless. There are some to Whom the work of educating is, to labor hard, to begin and end in drudgery, for such teachers it is difficult to retain the freshness and elasticity of youth in the dull air and routine of the college room. That Dr. Brubaker is a distinguished exception to the common type of teacher is due to his personal qualifications. He is thorough, clear, unaffected, sincere and im- 5

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THE CLINIC NINETEEN-SIXTEEN i,Bruf.QIherti,B.5Bruhaker, Q. ., .B ROPESSOR ALBERT PHILSON BRUBAKER was born August 12, 1852, at Somerset, Pa. He received his early education at the Somerset Academy, and began his medical career in the office of his illustrious father, Dr. Henry Brubaker, who was widely known throughout VVestern Pennsylvania, not alone on account of his success as a general practitioner, but on account of his scientific attainments and his devotion to the profession of medicine. He held the medical leadership due to his technical skill, intelligence, integrity and liberal supply of good common sense. Dr. Henry Brubaker was of Swiss extraction. He was born in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, in 1827, educated by private tutors, at Allegheny College, and in 1851 was given his medical degree and diploma by jefferson Medical College. Immediately following his graduation he returned to his native county and started on a career that quickly placed him in the front ranks of the practitioners of the day. Dr. Henry Brubaker was a scholarly gentleman and an untiring student until the day of his untimely death at the age of sixty-two. He was a helpful man, a Christian man, and in Somerset and surrounding counties his memory will be forever cherished as one who was a beloved leader among men. In the history of Pennsylvania, one incident in the professional life of Dr. Henry Brubaker that should inspire the medical men of today, especially those who are standing at the beginning of their careers, will serve to illustrate his lofty sense of professional ethics and his wide humanity: A workman in a railroad camp near Somerset was taken down with a virulent attack of small-pox. The neighborhood soon became panic stricken, fearing that the dread malady might become epidemic. No one save Dr. Brubaker dared enter the house in which death lurked, but he did, and as often as three and four times a day, until death made his visits and ministrations no longer necessary. Then, in the teeth of a wild mountain storm, with the mercury twenty degrees below zero, he fashioned a rude casket, placed the body of the dead man in it, and, lowering it into the grave dug with his own hands, offered a prayer for the repose of the victim's soul. An incident which shows the very spirit of the man and reveals to us his heart of hearts! Dr. Henry Brubaker was a man full in learning, ripe in knowledge, rich in experi- ence, of sympathetic temperament, liberal in spirit and just in act. Thus a rare parental legacy was given to his eldest son, Albert Philson Brubaker, who, as a member of the Class of 1874 of jefferson Medical College, graduated with honor and distinction. In the succeeding years he was associated with Dr. james C. VVilson, now our Emeritus Professor of Medicine, in the Medical Clinics of the jefferson Hospital. About this time he became intensely interested in Physiology, doing experimental and research work, in 1880 he was appointed Demonstrator, and in 1885 Professor of Physiology and Pathology in the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery, a position which he held for twenty-two years. Two years later the honorary degree of Master of Arts was conferred upon Dr. Brubaker by Franklin and Marshall College as a tribute to his scholarly attainments. 4

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THE CLINIC NINETEEN-SIXTEEN pressive, possessing a kindly manner, quiet humor and a never-failing interest in what the students are doing-justly winning his wonderful popularity as a teacher and illus- trating how the personal influence of an enlightened and loving teacher, sympathetic and noble personality gives to us boundless faith. A strict disciplinarian, and respected as such, yet most affable and considerate towards student and colleagues, tolerant of all truths, endowed with singularly happy equipoise, broad sympathies and all-around completeness, Dr. Brubaker is eminently fitted for the chair which he now Hlls with so much distinction. Owing to his great personal popularity with the students, we go to him when perplexing questions arise as to our future, to find him sympathizing with our efforts, possessing and exercising the rare gift of common-sense observation and judgment, which is the product of a broad outlook and large capabilities. To a student and a scholar, a man of unsurpassed popularity, a friend of every student and a teacher of teachers, one loved by his professional associates, and more than all by us, the Class of l9l6 of jefferson Medical College-Doctor Albert P. Brubaker, Professor of Physiology and Medical jurisprudence in Jefferson Medical College-this book, as a small tribute of our love and esteem, is affectionately dedicated. Mas t i w e i 6