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Medical History

Lethal Chambers: The Curse of Anglo-American Eugenics

November 8, 2021 by Jaap Harskamp 3 Comments

eugenicsThe relationship between politics and science has always been complicated, and at times, disastrous.

The term eugenics was coined in 1883 by the British scientist Francis Galton who advocated that society should promote the marriage of the “fittest” individuals by providing monetary incentives.

Numerous intellectuals and political leaders (Winston Churchill and John Maynard Keynes in Britain; Woodrow Wilson and Alexander Graham Bell in the United States) came to accept the idea that society should strive for the improvement of the human race through governmental intervention. [Read more…] about Lethal Chambers: The Curse of Anglo-American Eugenics

Filed Under: Arts, History, New York City Tagged With: Art History, Cold Spring Harbor, Crime and Justice, Disability History, dogs, Immigration, Medical History, poverty, Rockefeller Foundation, Science, Science History, Urban History, World War Two

Amsterdam’s Racetrack and Other Mohawk Valley Stories

October 1, 2021 by Bob Cudmore Leave a Comment

The Historians LogoThis week on The Historians Podcast, Bob Cudmore has stories from his Daily Gazette and Amsterdam Recorder Focus on History columns including Amsterdam’s horse racing track, the life of a volunteer nurse in the Civil War and Amsterdam radio announcers who served in Armed Forces Radio. [Read more…] about Amsterdam’s Racetrack and Other Mohawk Valley Stories

Filed Under: History, Mohawk Valley Tagged With: Amsterdam, Horses, Medical History, Mohawk Valley, Podcasts, Radio History, World War Two

Albany’s Ira Harris: From Rights Advocate to Lincoln’s Assassination

September 27, 2021 by Peter Hess 2 Comments

Ira HarrisIra Harris was born at Charleston, Montgomery County, NY on May 31st, 1802 to Fredrick Waterman Harris and Lucy Hamilton. When he was six years old, his family moved to Preble, NY where his father became one of the largest landowners in Cortland County.

Harris attended Homer Academy and graduated from Union College in 1824. He studied law for one year in Homer, New York and then moved to Albany where he assisted one of that city’s most highly regarded jurists, Ambrose Spencer. [Read more…] about Albany’s Ira Harris: From Rights Advocate to Lincoln’s Assassination

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: 1846 NYS Constitution, Abe Lincoln, Albany, Albany County, Albany Law School, Albany Med, Albany Rural Cemetery, Anti-Rent War, Cortland County, Crime and Justice, Horace Greeley, Legal History, Medical History, Montgomery County, Political History, politics, Supreme Court, Temperance, Union College, Vassar College, William Seward, womens history

Major André’s Toe & Typhoid Mary on Rockland Co Podcast

September 22, 2021 by Clare Sheridan Leave a Comment

crossroads of rockland historyThe September 2021 episode of “Crossroads of Rockland History,” was a two-part episode. First, host Clare Sheridan read “The True Story of Major André’s Toe,” as written by Palisades Historian Alice Gerard. (The story appeared in the HSRC’s South of the Mountains history quarterly).

This story is relevant right now, because one hundred years ago, Major John André’s remains were exhumed by order of the Duke of York and moved from Tappan, NY (the site of André’s hanging) to Westminster Abbey. Part 2 revisited our interview with author Mary Beth Keane about her book Fever, the historical fiction exploration of Mary Mallon, a.k.a. Typhoid Mary — a story of that is more relevant today than ever. [Read more…] about Major André’s Toe & Typhoid Mary on Rockland Co Podcast

Filed Under: History, Hudson Valley - Catskills Tagged With: American Revolution, Medical History, Podcasts, Rockland County

Modernist Architecture, Literature, and the Adirondack Cottage Sanatorium

September 12, 2021 by Jaap Harskamp 2 Comments

First page of an 1887 BrochureEdward Livingston Trudeau was born in 1848 in New York City to a family of physicians. During his late teens, his elder brother James contracted tuberculosis (TB) and Edward nursed him until his death three months later. At twenty, he enrolled in the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia College (now Columbia University), completing his medical training in 1871. Two years later, he was diagnosed with TB too.

Following current climate-therapeutic theories that promoted the relocation of patients to regions with atmospheric conditions favorable to recuperation, he moved to the Adirondack Mountains. Seeking as much open air as he possible could, almost continuously living outside, he subsequently regained his health. In 1876 he settled in Saranac Lake and established a small medical practice. It was the beginning of a remarkable career and a new chapter in American medical history. [Read more…] about Modernist Architecture, Literature, and the Adirondack Cottage Sanatorium

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History Tagged With: Adirondacks, Architecture, Cultural History, Housing, Literature, Medical History, modernism, Saranac Lake, tuberculosis

The Agent Orange Trial: Long Island Legal History

August 26, 2021 by Chris Kretz Leave a Comment

long island history project logoWe finish out our special three-part series on Long Island’s Vietnam veterans by looking at a second battle they faced in the years after the war: the effects of Agent Orange. By the late 1970s the effects of this chemical defoliant were becoming known and veterans began to mobilize. [Read more…] about The Agent Orange Trial: Long Island Legal History

Filed Under: History, New York City Tagged With: Long Island, Medical History, Military History, Podcasts, Vietnam War

Healing Springs in New York State (History Podcast)

August 13, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

a new york minute in history podcastAs the understanding of medicine and health evolved over time there were many examples in New York State of communities whose location was thought to have healing properties, most often because of the existence of springs or some other perceived environmental benefit.

The most famous is Saratoga Springs, but there are others around NYS, including Pitcher Springs in Chenango County. These locations flourished in the 19th century as people began to look to them not only as places of healing, but as places of high society and entertainment.

[Read more…] about Healing Springs in New York State (History Podcast)

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Cultural History, Environmental History, Medical History, Podcasts

The Poesten Kill: Healing & Healthful Waters

August 13, 2021 by John Warren Leave a Comment

Joseph Hidley - Poestenkill May 10, 1862 The Poesten Kill is a mid-sized stream that flows off the Rensselaer Plateau in western Rensselaer County toward the Hudson River. It tumbles through Barbersville Falls and winds its way through the towns of Poestenkill and Brunswick, before reaching the Great Falls above Troy. Below there it’s channeled into a long-abandoned canal (hence Canal Street in Troy) that flows into the Hudson.

In the earliest recorded times, fresh drinking water was acquired from the Poesten Kill and from a spring on Hollow Road in Troy (now Spring Avenue, later the farm of Stephen J. Schuyler). [Read more…] about The Poesten Kill: Healing & Healthful Waters

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Nature Tagged With: Engineering History, Environmental History, floods, Medical History, Poestenkill, Rensselaer County, Rensselaerswijck, Troy

‘Saratoga Baths’: Saratoga Springs’ Phila Street Bathhouse

June 22, 2021 by Bill Orzell Leave a Comment

The architecture of Saratoga Springs is remarkable, and the tangible link to our past. However some gems have been lost through the ages, due to fire and folly. One such wonder was the Saratoga Bath House, formerly at 25 Phila Street.

[Read more…] about ‘Saratoga Baths’: Saratoga Springs’ Phila Street Bathhouse

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Architecture, Historic Preservation, Medical History, Saratoga, Saratoga County, Saratoga Springs

Smallpox in North America: Inoculation to Vaccination, Part 2

May 19, 2021 by Liz Covart Leave a Comment

ben_franklins_worldBefore its eradication in 1980, smallpox was the most feared disease in many parts of the world. Known as the “king of terrors” and the “disease of diseases” the search for a way to lessen and avoid smallpox was on!

How did vaccination come about? What are vaccination’s connections to smallpox inoculation? And how did news and practice of vaccination spread throughout North America? These questions will be our focus in this second, and final, episode in the Ben Franklin’s World podcast series, “From Inoculation to Vaccination.”

[Read more…] about Smallpox in North America: Inoculation to Vaccination, Part 2

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Medical History, Podcasts

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