Professor Macksey's Library (Again)

I Should Be Tweeting

   You may recognize the wonderful room above which was at the top of a post I did back when Professor Macksey passed away a couple of years ago (see: Professor Macksey's Library.) If you do recognize it, it is probably not because you ever look at this blog, but because you saw a tweet about it on Twitter. Apparently it went viral and I am sorry to say that it is unlikely that I was the source of this virus, since I don't think the tweeter mentioned MM. Perhaps he would have, but the number of words he can use is limited. Here is the story about it:

"A Library the Internet Can’t Get Enough Of: Why Does This Image Keep Resurfacing On Social Media?" Kate Dwyer, New York Times, Jan. 16, 2022
"On the first Tuesday of the year, the author and political activist Don Winslow tweeted a photograph of an avid reader’s dream library. Bathed in the buttery glow of three table lamps, almost every surface of the room is covered with books. There are books on the tables, books stacked on mahogany ladders, and books atop still more books lining the shelves of the room. “I hope you see the beauty in this that I do,” Mr. Winslow wrote in the tweet, which has been acknowledged with 32,800 hearts."

Apparently, the tweet also garnered 1,700 comments. My post has been read by about 30 people since September, 2019, none of whom chose to comment. Nor did any choose to complain, I might add, and I am not bitter about my lack of popularity. I would like to suggest, however, as all news broadcasters now do, that if you want "BREAKING NEWS" about such things and wish to be the first in your coterie to know about them, you should consult MM. 

  By the way, the article (not the tweet) also included the information below. If you add it to what I provided earlier about Professor Macksey, you will know much more than the Twitter users who just viewed the photograph:

Dr. Macksey’s book collection clocked in at 51,000 titles, according to his son, Alan, excluding magazines and other ephemera. A decade ago, the most valuable pieces — including first editions of “Moby Dick,” T.S. Eliot’s “Prufrock and Other Observations,” and works by Wordsworth, Keats and Shelley — were moved to a “special collections” room on the Hopkins campus. After Dr. Macksey’s death, a S.W.A.T. team-like group of librarians and conservationists spent three weeks combing through his book-filled, 7,400-square-foot house to select 35,000 volumes to add to the university’s libraries.

This all happened at Johns Hopkins, by the way.

Bloomberg

 

Johns Hopkins University

   The name "Bloomberg" may be familiar to you and you are likely to have heard of Johns Hopkins. Bloomberg was the mayor of New York City for many years and he was a presidential candidate in the last U.S. election. Johns Hopkins University is a small, private one, located in Baltimore and you probably know about it because of its medical school. Loyal readers of this blog will recall a post about Sir William Osler, who was important in the history of that school. There was recently some very good news about Johns Hopkins, because of Bloomberg, and I thought of it as I read the very bad news about Laurentian University. 

Bloomberg the Benefactor

   Recently Mr. Bloomberg gave Hopkins another donation of $150 million. Earlier, in 2018, he gave the University $1.8 BILLION, which is surely the largest gift given to an institution of higher education. His first gift was $5 when he graduated and the total he has now provided to Hopkins exceeds $3 BILLION.  His generosity extends beyond his alma mater. He has given lots to Harvard and $100 million to Cornell which is in the state next door. He has also donated considerable sums in other areas ranging from the Arts to Public Health initiatives. I won't go on. The sums are too great for me to handle and they are outlined in the sources I will provide.

   It is interesting to learn about the source of his riches. The Mayor of New York does not make very much and Mr. Bloomberg spent millions when running for president and even more to try and keep Trump out of the oval office.  Bloomberg does not come from a wealthy family. What he has comes mostly out of the object pictured above and there are thousands of them, all known as "Bloomberg Terminals." When they arrived on desktops in the early '80s, it was thought that they would not last, but they have. 

Laurentian University

   The good fortune of Hopkins is interesting to consider given the bad news coming from Sudbury. Laurentian needs a benefactor to lift it from insolvency since it does not appear that the current government will. Or perhaps Hopkins can send relief in the form of some of the staff members from their Advancement Office who surely can't have much to do. It is probably not a good idea to rely on noblesse oblige to support higher education, just as there must be a better solution than relying on the largesse derived from foreign students. But, what other options are there? Unfortunately here in Canada, colleges and universities have never received as much support from alumni as those in the United States and the provincial governments are typically rather stingy benefactors. 

Sources: 

Bloomberg Philanthropies will keep you busy for the rest of the day. Among other things, a large amount is expended to keep people from drowning. 

Plenty of bad news can be found in Sudbury. The Sudbury Workers, Education and Advocacy Centre (SWEAC) is trying to get more government assistance for the university.

 Both the COU and OCUFA issued statements about the inadequacy of the Spring Budget.

https://ontariosuniversities.ca/response-to-ontario-spring-2021-budget.

https://ocufa.on.ca/press-releases/2021-budget-a-missed-opportunity-to-invest-in-ontarios-future/

The Bonus

Bloomberg's daughter went to Princeton and many benefitted. There is now an Emma Bloomberg Center for Access and Opportunity. 

In an earlier post, I provided this quote about Canadian universities c1930s: 

The universities had no contact with one another. Most of them had been conceived, born, and nourished for sectarian purposes, and all were very poor. Because they were poor they were ill-nurtured, and were as a rule at odds with one another. Professors were badly paid, libraries were meagre, laboratories were few and scantily equipped, museums hardly existed. The provincial treasurers, harassed by other demands for which they were afraid to tax their constituents, took advantage of the divided interests of the colleges to refuse aid impartially to all. From: Fifty Years Retrospect: Canada, 1882-1932

On Osler

   You will likely recognize the name 'Osler' and know that Sir William Osler was a famous Canadian physician, who is sometimes called the 'Father of Modern Medicine'. That phrase was even used in a recent article which went on to suggest his name should be erased from our memory.

   You will be able to judge easily from the headline, the sin of which he is now found to be guilty: "Sir William Osler's Revered Status in Medicine Shaken As Racist Views are Revealed," Marco Chown Oved, Toronto Star, Nov. 9, 2020. That article is reporting on another one with this rather sarcastic title, especially when appearing in a professional medical periodical: "William Osler: Saint in a White Man's Dominion", which is found in the Nov. 9th issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal.  Some of Osler's views are now considered by some to be reprehensible (he died in 1919) and it is suggested that his name needs to be removed from various objects and replaced by the names of others now more acceptable. That would include, here in London, Osler Street and the Osler Society up at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry. 

   I was not convinced by the arguments presented, that Osler needs to be eliminated. I admit, as well, that I am more concerned about the skills of my cardiac surgeon than her political views. There are others better equipped to defend Osler including some close by, to wit: "Dr. Vivian McAlister, a surgeon and professor at Western University in London, Ont., warned against people reading Osler's words and judging them by the standards of today. "(Historical figures) all said things that would make us cringe today, but they were still very noble people," McAlister said. "(Osler) inspired all physicians of all races and all backgrounds to do better. He continues to do that today. That is his legacy." (that is from the Star article.) 

   I made a similar point in my post about the current Historical Censoriousness:

“The dispensing of moral judgments upon people or upon actions in retrospect,” wrote Butterfield, is the “most useless and unproductive of all forms of reflection.”

   Both the articles are available to you and you can decide for yourself. As well, you should read the long biographical essay by Charles G. Roland in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography, or the shorter one by him in the Canadian Encyclopedia.  There is a good profile of Osler at Johns Hopkins where he was physician-in-chief.  At McGill University, however, his legacy is under attack and, "This summer, Montreal emergency pediatrician and McGill professor Dr. Samir Shaheen-Hussain penned two columns asking why medicine still puts racists on pedestals." Apparently hiring policies at McGill are more liberal now than admissions standards once were, since the discriminatory policies against Jews were not changed until after World War II. While the Dr. above may not be Jewish, if he is really concerned about all the past injustices, he will likely be busier as a polemicist than a physician.

Osler's Other Controversies

   If the Thought Police wish to be thorough in their indictment of the evil Osler, they should include three other incidents which indicate he did not have the character required for the period in which we live. The first two are reported in the DCB profile of Osler mentioned above. For very sensitive readers I should place here one of those warnings one gets before TV shows, but the sentence so far should suffice.

"William was an active and mischievous child, and numerous stories describe his jokes and pranks, one of which ended in an overnight stay in jail."

and

"Sometimes, Osler’s spirits bubbled over into literary practical jokes. One such instance of joie de vivre almost backfired. While living in Montreal, he concocted a spurious and ribald account of the supposed sexual and obstetric practices of an Indian tribe in Quebec, sending it under a pseudonym to a friend who edited a journal. The joke got out of hand when the article was accepted and almost published. A few years later, a similar piece by him was published."

(It is fortunate that I have few readers, none of whom would read carefully enough to notice the involvement of the Indigenous in the episode above. Although the people at Hopkins seem to be aware of all this horrid stuff, if this information spread widely in Canada, Osler would surely be in deep trouble.)

   The third charge against Osler is far more serious. In 1905 he was widely condemned in the North American press for recommending that the elderly be euthanized. He made the suggestion during a talk he delivered as he was leaving Hopkins and it was quite controversial. It shouldn't be. The idea that we should all be allotted a "FIXED PERIOD" was taken from Trollope, but Osler's,  "attempt at jocularity failed when the American yellow press sensationalized the story, claiming that Osler had seriously recommended that all older persons be chloroformed."  His name became a widely used eponym and we can apply it artfully here and say the debate about Osler should be "Oslerized." Sir William Osler likely had both a better bedside manner and a better sense of humour than your current GP. 

Sources:

"Nationwide ridicule of “The Fixed Period” address included cartoons such as this one, showing haloed William Osler dispensing chloroform to aging men. Image courtesy of the Alan Mason Chesney Medical Archives of the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions.

All the above from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6413966/

For the article in the CMAJ. 

"William Osler: Saint in a “White Man’s Dominion,”

CMAJ November 09, 2020 192 (45)

Information about the "Fixed Period" fiasco is easy to find and you can begin with the Wikipedia entry.  A thorough account is found in the following article which also provides these eponymous examples:

“To Oslerize” entered the American lexicon as a synonym for euthanasia, but the Baltimore News went further:

Osler; v.—To retire, to be retired. Example: “I am about to Osler.” “We have decided to Osler the janitor.”

Oslerization—The process of applying the Osler. Example: “Your services are no longer required.”

Oslerumni—Those who have been Oslered or Oslerized; divided into two classes—the material but declining and the spiritual but declined.

Osleresque—Having the quality of early retirement; prematurely languid; that tired feeling at 40.

Osleritis—See lazy.

From: "Osler Goes Viral: "The Fixed Period" Revisited," Charles S. Bryan, Proceedings- Baylor University, Medical Center, 2018-10-02, Vol. 31 (4). p.550.

A new article about Osler has just been published, but I was not able to access it. Here is the abstract:

Charles S. Bryan, "Sir William Osler, Eugenics, Racism, and the Komagata Maru Incident, "Baylor University Medical Proceedings, Published online: 09 Nov 2020

Abstract

A recent critic levels two new charges against Sir William Osler: (1) that in 1912 he was a vice president of the First International Eugenics Congress; and (2) that in 1914 he asserted Canada should remain a “a white man’s country.” Osler was indeed among the 31 vice presidents of the First International Eugenics Congress, but he did nothing further in this area. Osler indeed asserted that Canada should remain a “white man’s country,” but his context was the Komagata Maru incident during which most Canadians felt the same way about 376 passengers from the Punjab Province of British India who sought to defy Canadian immigration law. There is little or no indication of racism elsewhere in Osler’s deeds and writings, and the idea that race is largely a social construct emerged only after his death. Advocates for racial equality should view Osler not as an adversary but rather as an ally in today’s battles for global justice and also for human survival.

Charles S. Bryan (2020) Sir William Osler, eugenics, racism, and the Komagata Maru incident, Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings, DOI: 10.1080/08998280.2020.1843380

Bonus Information:

Did you know that the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame is in London and has relocated to 100 Kellogg Lane, The Tower, 4th Floor. 

There is an Osler Society up at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry:

"The Osler Society at Western was founded as a permanent historical society at Western’s Medical School in the 1920s. It is named after Canadian doctor William Osler (1849-1919), who emerged as the ideal modern physician for his stance on the importance of practical instruction teaching in the laboratory, at the bedside and in the morgue. Osler’s The Principles and Practice of Medicine became a landmark textbook, going through eight editions in Osler’s lifetime and sixteen in total, and established him as the authority in modern medicine. His lay sermons include ethical and moral lessons relevant for physicians past and present."

Professor Macksey's Library

    In July of this year there were many obituaries for Professor Richard A. Macksey who taught for over six decades at Johns Hopkins University. Apparently he was a legendary and inspirational teacher. Clearly he was a great collector of books. His library of approximately 70,000 of them is pictured above.






Sources:
"Richard Macksey, Johns Hopkins Professor With Capacious Mind and Library, Dies at 87, " Matt Schudel, Washington Post, July 26, 2019.
"Dr. Macksey (pronounced “Maxie”) was a wide-ranging scholar and polymath whose expertise extended from ancient and modern literature — in at least six languages — to medical history, biophysics, critical theory and film. He had joint appointments in Johns Hopkins’s School of Arts and Sciences and the medical school, where he helped design a curriculum that included writing and the humanities."
"He also was a founder of what is now the Maryland Film Festival in Baltimore and volunteered to work in the night shift at a free book exchange. He seemed to subsist on three hours of sleep and pipe tobacco."
"Dr. Richard A. Macksey, A Legendary Johns Hopkins University Professor, Polymath and Noted Bibliophile, Dies," Frederick N. Rasmussen, Baltimore Sun, July 25, 2019.
"At home, the center of Dr. Macksey’s life was his library, which came about after he and his wife decided to convert the garage of their 1921 Guilford home into a library measuring 16 feet by 28 feet, and whose walls contained shelves that rose 15 feet to the ceiling. In spite of the massive size of the room, which had a Palladian window and a heat pump to protect the books from humid Baltimore summer, his library of an estimated 70,000 books spilled onto tables and rose in piles from the floor, making it the largest private library in the state."
"Richard Macksey, 'A One-of-a-Kind Intellectual Giant' Dies," Rachel Wallace, HUB, July 23, 2019.
"When Hopkins Alums Think of the Humanities, They Think of Richard Macksey," HUB, July 23, 2019.  This is a profile of Professor Macksey that appeared originally in the Johns Hopkins Gazette on June 21, 1999.  The picture of Macksey is from this article.
"Farewell Richard Macksey, Legendary Polymath and 'The Jewel in the Hopkins Crown,(1931-2019)" Cynthia Haven. From "The Book Haven", her blog at Stanford.

[Once again, no links are provided because of the likely instability of many of them and because some sources may be behind a firewall. If you google, them you can verify the sources.]

Post Script:
This bad news for Hopkins is offset to a great degree by this good news:
"Bloomberg Gives $1.8 BILLION to Johns Hopkins for Student Aid," Anemona Hartocollis, New York Times, Nov. 18, 2019