Rufus Ivory Cole papers

Access and use

Location of collection:
University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept.
Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library
University of Virginia
P.O. Box 400110
160 McCormick Rd
Charlottesville, Virginia 22904-4110
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Brenda Gunn
Phone: (434) 924-1037
Phone: (434) 243-1776
Fax: (434) 924-4968
Restrictions:

Collection is open to research.

Terms of access:

There are no restrictions.

Summary

Extent:
1.25 Linear Feet
Language:
English

Background

Scope and content:

Cole's collection contains correspondence, including several postcards from his grandsons and one with "Mrs. Rufus Cole" printed on it; reprints of journal articles, mainly ones written by Cole; and biographical memoirs and honorary programs related to Sir William Osler, William H. Welch, William Stewart Halstead, Samuel James Meltzer, Harvey Cushing, William George MacCallum, Oswald Theodore Avery, Simon Flexner, Thomas Milton Rivers, Max Broedel, and Allen O. Whipple.

Biographical / historical:

Rufus Ivory Cole was born in Rowsburg, Ohio, on April 30, 1872. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1896 and attended the Johns Hopkins Medical School, graduating in 1899. At Hopkins he came under the influence of faculty members such as William Osler, William H. Welch, and Lewellys Barker. As a resident at Hopkins, Cole was in charge of a biological laboratory where he studied typhoid fever. He married Annie Hegeler in 1908, the same year he was appointed the Director of the Hospital of the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, the first hospital in the U.S. devoted primarily to the investigation of disease. The Hospital itself opened in October 1910 with 50 beds. Cole remained at the Hospital until 1937. His medical research centered on problems relating to immunity to diseases of the respiratory system, particularly pneumonia. In retirement he wrote a two volume work titled Human History: The Seventeenth Century and the Stuart Family. Cole died on April 20, 1966.

Acquisition information:
Gift of John Staige Davis IV.
Physical description:
1 1/3 linear feet, 3 Hollinger boxes.