University of Maryland School of Pharmacy - Terra Mariae Yearbook (Baltimore, MD)

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or was never recogmzed ; and the part played by the College of Physicians and Surgeons, The Baltimore Medical College, The Woman ' s Medical College of Baltimore, and the Uni- versity of Maryland in creating a sentiment in favor of radical changes in medical require- ments has also long since been lost sight of. In man - other ways was Dr. Cordell ' s altruism exhibited in a bountiful measure. Indeed it was a well spring within him, constantly impell- ing him to new activities in behalf of those who were in need of succor. Thus he was President and chief worker of the Hospital Relief Association for several years; one of the founders for the Home for Incurables, an excellent institution, now in useful operation, for the care of a peculiarly helpless and distressing class of cases; and more recently, the Home for Widows and ( )rphan ' S of Physicians, now located on Bolton street in this city. He certainly exemplified the scriptural injunction : ' ■Thmi slialt love thy neighbor as thyself; indeed, in many respects he loved his neighbor more than himself. His un- selfish efforts in so many directions were recognized and appreciated, and he was the recip- ient of many tokens of respect and esteem. He was elected president of many of the local medical societies, and from 1902-4 he was President of the Johns Hopkins Hospital His- torical Club, and in 1903-4 he was President of the Medical and Chirurgical Faculty of Maryland, the highest honor within the gift of the medical profession of this State. As has been stated, he was a prolific writer and was the author of numerous papers on his- torical, medical and literary subjects; but it is as a medical historiographer that he will be best known to those who come after us. In 1891 he iiublislicd his Historical Sketch of the University of Maryland, and in l ' J07 brought out in two volumes an am])lified history of the University, covering the first century of its existence. In 1903 he published his Medical Annals of Maryland, which embraced a co r.plete history of the physicians of Maryland from the time of the founding of the Medical and Chirurgical Faculty of Maryland in 17 ' J ' ) to the celebration of its centennial in 1899. These works are exhaustive in character, and, as he says in the preface to the Medical Annals: He has striven to produce a volume which will, for all time to come, he regarded as authoritative in all matters relating to the medical history of the State. I imagine there will be but little added to these histories by future historians, and that they will be authoritati e for all time to come. In l ' )03 Dr. Cordell was appointed librarian of the Medical Lilirary of the University, and Honorary Professor of the History of Medicine, later being advanced to the full ])rofessorship of the History of Medicine. At the time of his appointment the Liljrary consisted of a few hundred dust-covered, ancient olumes ; at the time of his demise, 14,000 or more books had been accumulated, indexed and arranged for use and study. This phenomenal devel- opment was almost entirely due to his activity, zeal and acc|uaintance with both books and physicians. ' ith but small financial assistance from the Faculty, he gathered this large collection from near and far, and truly erected for himself a monument, let us hope, more durable than Ijrass. The Library was the child of his old age. and he regarded it with almost parental aft ' ection. He nursed and nourished it, treated its ailments and healed its bruises, set its fractures and sutured its wounds. He had an aft ' ectionate interest in each book, and held manv of them as beloved friends and companions. I must n ot linger longer in this interesting field, but must devote the remainder of the time allotted to me to a consideration of his intense loyalty to his Alma Mater. He was always a most loyal alumnus, but as he advanced in years this love became almost an obsession. At first, his thought 25

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tlic Eni])cn r. Xalliaii K. Smiili ; as well a uiKkr .M iltenberger, jc.l)n i()ii, Dnnald.-oii and Howard, all of iIkiii hkii of great di-iiiulion and liigii scliolarsliip. To the iiirtuencc of these teaeliers, doubtless, was largely due those lofty ideals of professional con ku-t that were so characteristic of him. Dr. Cordell entered upon i)ractice in the city of llaltiniore in 1869, but the literary and educational side of Iii profession ajjpealed to him more strongly than the practical, and while he continued to engage in i)rivate jiractice until he was stricken down, his enduring reputation rests u])on his acliievements in medical literature ; u|)on his researches in medical archaeology, especially thai of Maryland; and upon his altruistic and ]jhilanthropic efforts to relieve the distress and augment the happiness of his less fortunate fellow beings. While his education was much interrupted by the four years of the Civil War. he found lime subset|uenlly to l)econie an exceptionally well educated man, and he acquire l an excellent knowledge of both Latin and Ciennan. The latter language he largely learned bv attending the services in the Cierman churches, while his knowledge of Latin was kept constantly fresh by his habit of reading daily from the classics. He also kei)t abreast the advances of medicine by assiduous study, and by taking advani.ige of the opportunities for clinical instruction that were ofi ' ered him. He served as Attending Physi- cian to the Baltimore General Disi)cnsary from lS6 ' )-72. and tlui ac |uired a large e.xperi- ence during the earlv years of his professional life. He was a foumler of the Woman ' s Medical College of llaltimore in 1882. and was Professor of Materia Medica and Ther- apeutics from 1882-84, and of the Practice of Medicine from 1884-1 ' ' ' 03 ; during which time he was also Attending Physician to the Good Samaritan lIos])ital. He was the author of notable i apers ujwn a number of medical subjects, and his report of the outbreak of tet.inus from injuries due to tov ])istols. in 1881. is a classic. Time does not allow a further enum- eration of hi- contribution- of a -triclly scicntitic character. From 1870-71 he was Librarian of the Medical and Chirurgical Faculty, and again from 1880-87. He had here unlimited access to medical books and journals, and (leveloi)ed a close acquaintance with n.edical literature. During a portion of this time he was also co- eilitor with Dr. .Xshby. of the .Maryland Medic.il joiuiial. and the issues of that journal dur- ing that time are tilled with articles written in his graceful but trenchant style. In 1882. in conjunction with Professor .Xsiiby. the writer and several others, he was a founder of tile Woman ' s Medical College of r.,iltimoie. and his first experience as a teacher of medical -tudents was obtained in this -mall but excellent school, which dieil after an existence of twentv-eight vears. Through his efTorts the course of instruction was lengthened from two to three sessions, at a time when no otlier me lical sdn ' ol in tiie city, and but few in the whole country re |uired more than two sessions. He was also in-trimiem,il in having a i)reliminary examin:ition adopted to determine the fitness of prospective students to begin the stiwlv of me licine. long liefore it w ,i- done here or elsewhere in this country: and to still farther add to the list of his far--ighted and constructive activities for the betterment of medical education, he suggested the meeting together of representatives of the local medical colleges to consider improvements in medical instruction; .ind fro)n ibis confer- ence went out the call to the colleges of this country that resulted in the formation of the .Association of . merican .Medical Colleges, which has had such :i potent intluence in the betterment « f medical educ.ition in tiie I ' nited States. Cordell ' s work h.i- been forgollen 24

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was for tlic mc(lical school, and uiili far- sighted vision he saw the day approadiing when tlie unendowed medical school wonlil not he ahle to exist. Twentv years ago he sounded the alarm and it fell u])on unheeding ear . Again, and again, the tocsin rang, and at last the deaf ears heard and tlie sleeping conscience was awakened, and effort was .seriously begun to raise funds for a permanent endowment. With the drawing together of the various de])artnients in 1 ' ' 07, during the centennial celel)ration, the L ' nivcrsity idea hecame tirmly established, and Cordell transferred his interest largely fnjni the n-edical school to the l ' ni ersity as a whole; and with his motto of ' toli non ])artibus, he founded the Cieneral . lunnii -Association, and began the accunnilation of a fund for general L ' ni ersity inirjjoses. In these several efforts, considering the lack of co-operation and the paucity of bis opportuni- ties, he accomplished wonders, and if the institution shall be able to withstand the pressure of these strenuous times, it will be due largely to the work and efforts of this man. In furtherance of this object, he established a L ' niversity monthly ])eriodical, aptly named ( )ld .Maryland, tlevoted to the interests of the whole L ' niversity ; and he continued to ])ublish this pajjer until his deatii. ( )ld Maryland not only contained many articles and items of unusual interest, but it will always be of special value as recording Dr. Cordell ' s own experience as a soldier in the Confederate .Army from lSf)l-. . This publication is considered of such value in binding the different departments together and as a means of communication with the Alumni, tliat it has been decided to continue to pulili b it under the direction of the Gen- eral . luinni .Association. Allusion has already been made to Dr. CordelKs efforts to accumulate funds for the endowment of the different departments; efforts that were worthy of greater fruition, though they did bring good results. For this unre(|uiled labor, tills l.ibor of love, the L ' ni- versity of Maryland will be eternally his debtor, and in the time to come he will be hontired as the one who tirst called attention to the absolute necessity of an ample endowment, and who first attemjjted to collect finul- for this purjjose. it i proposed to erect a tablet to his memory now in one of the halls of the L ' ni cr«ity. but some time in the future ;i more titling memorial should be dedicated to him. Dr. Cordell was a nian of ])o itiye convictions, and was inclined to be rather intolerant of those whf) differed with hiiu, but he always stood for righteousness, and for those things that were true, and honest, and just, and inirc. We have sustained an irrejiarable loss. We n ' ay secure another librarian who shall be able to discharge the duties of the office efliciently ; we may aiJjxMnt another lecturer on the History of .Medicine who shall be equally satisfac- tory, but we cannot replace the loyalty, the enthusiasm, the altruism and the ini])elling |)er- sonalitv th;it were combined in Professor Eugene Tauntleroy Cordell. 26