New York Medical College - Fleuroscope Yearbook (Valhalla, NY)

Page 46 text:

im WILLIAM DIEFFENBACI-I WILLIAM FRANCIS I-ICNAN . Two Homeopathic Physicians Who Have Leit Their Impress On Modern Medical Science I Q - ttMAN, the Unknown was the topic of his . last lecture to the class. Little did he real- , 1 ize that it was to be the final lecture of his S 4 splendid career. 'From ashes to ashes, and dust to dust', a short unpredictable span. Although our association with Dr. William F. l-lonan was but brief, a mutual understanding was immediately felt. His clearness of thought. and tolerance to new ideas were soon recog- nized. He was sincerely interested in teaching us, as his students and as his friends. As members of the lower classes, we had heard much of his surgical ability, but it was personal observation of his gentle care of patients, and his surgical finesse which earned both our re- spect and admiration. lt was this combination of surgeon-scholar -friend which inspired one of our classmates- Leonard Rubin-to express his, as well as the class' appreciation of his many admirable qualities. Unknown to even his intimate friends, Leonard determined to devote his talents to manifest concretely the high opinion with which we regard Dr. Honan. Lenny worked long and earnestly to prepare a bust of our departed teacher. For his model, he could re- sort only to photographs obtained from previous Year Books. So characteristic are the features, and so life-like the sparkling smile, that the faculty-as well as the student body-spontaneously greeted with acclaim the bust, with its beautiful workmanship, and the idealistic sentiment behind its creation. With becoming mod- esty, the bust was given to the class, and it was only befitting that we-who were the last to be associated with Dr. Honan as students and teacher-should donate the bust, as a class gift, to the college. , , I The bust will remain a most appropriate tribute of a Student s appreciation of a worthy Teacher. HY REINSTEIN Forty-seven

Page 45 text:

AN APPRECIATION WILLIAM Hermann Dieffenbach is dead. -The impact of this news upon the conscious- ness of those who knew him is stunning. Theoretically no man is irreplaceable. Yet it is hard to understand just how his associates in the medical world are going to continue with- out him, for he had won a place as mentor, counselor and leader to a large group of med- ical men throughout the whole country. People living at the foot of a mountain do not realize the height of the summit. So we, who have been intimately associated with this man so many years, must be excused if in the numbing shock of his passing we find it impos- sible to evaluate his full magnitude. He was a great man. That much we know. Endowed with a wonderful mind and a rug- ' ged body, he had capacity for work far beyond - the average. He made himself a perfect mine of medical lore and had an astounding grasp of clinical medicine. His thirst for knowledge was always practical. His dynamic energy required action. His enthusiasm for homeopathy caused him to lead a group in the proving of radium, estab- lishing this remedy as a potent homeopathic drug. His altruism and personal self sacrifice in making this proving brought him poetic reward: quite unexpectedly the first case to ben- efit was himself: his old x-ray dermatitis was cured in the proving. He made the first colored photograph in the United States. His passion for new things in science of immediate practical value was well illustrated a few years ago. Attending a medical congress in Europe he learned of the use of ultra short wave. Characteristically he ordered a machine at once and thus was one of the first to bring this curative agent to the United States. His judgment has been verified by the mir- aculous cures which have popularized this method. Only recently he wrote a book which is generally credited as being the clearest exposition of this treatment thus far printed. His mind ranged far and wide. He was an authority on hydrotherapy and wrote a book on the subject. One of his students only a few days ago declared that Baron Dieffenbach's bath for delirium tremens had helped him out in many a difficult case. C Baron was an affectionate title used by his friends.l His long-range vision and enthusiasm over homeopathy undoubtedly saved the New York College from perishing. When the College was facing extinction he sounded the trumpet for advance. Practically everyone though success was impossible. His answer was to head a movement to raise a million dollar endowment. His energy and indomitable perseverance put the campaign over, and the College was saved for future usefulness. The present wave of scientific knowledge of homeopathy which is sweeping through the country might easily have been delayed had it not been for Dieffenbach. For it was he who, in his reading, came across that epochal essay of August Bier's entitled, What Shall Be Our Attitude Toward Homeopathy? He persuaded Dr. Philipp Schmahl to translate this remark- able work, and then we in this country began to realize, for the first time, all the painstaking, careful, conscientious, scientific investigation which had been going on in Germany for many years. Our grief at his passing is natural enough. We will miss a wonderful friend and a stanch supported of our principles. But there is another side: there is less suffering in the world because he lived in ity there will be less. So his spirit lives on. l. A. l. H., FEBRUARY 1937. E. WALLACE MacADAM Forty-six

Page 47 text:

STUDENT BODY