Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

This collection is in the public domain. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.

Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction .

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Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Fritz B. Talbot Diary, 1917-1919, Ms2021-032, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Source of Acquisition

This collection was purchased by Special Collections in 2017.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of Fritz B. Talbot Diary was completed in September 2021.

Biographical Note

Fritz Bradley Talbot, 1878-1964, American pioneer in pediatric medicine, graduated in 1905 from Harvard Medical School, where he served as professor of pediatrics from 1922-1932 and 1942-1946. He also served as chief of the Children's Medical Service, which he founded at the Massachusetts General Hospital, from 1910 to 1931. In 1910, he founded the Wet Nurse Directory, the first such organization in the United States. Talbot published extensively, specializing in research on digestion, nutrition, and treatment of disease in infants. He coauthored, with John Lovett Morse (1865-1940), professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, a seminal text book on pediatrics, Diseases of Nutrition and Infant Feeding, N.Y, 1915 and 1920.

Scope and Content

The diary covers the period May 20-Oct. 15, 1917, and Jan. 5-May 6, 1918. It is complete; the gaps in chronology reflect the timing of those events and activities to which Talbot devoted his greatest professional attention.

His most important activities during the War consisted of attending meetings in Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., and Virginia, working under the Council of National Defense (CND) to establish a Committee on Child Welfare (CCW) that would address the potential crisis in public health that could arise from the critical shortage of medical providers as a result of the enlistment of many doctors and nurses in the armed forces. As a pediatrician Talbot was acutely aware of the danger of epidemic disease, especially for infants and children. He describes his professional activities, including but not limited to the organization of the Committee on Child Welfare.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Ann Hertzler Children's Cookbooks and Nutrition Literature Collection
• History of Food and Drink
• World War, 1914-1918

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the Fritz B. Talbot Diary by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).