Sir William Osler Centenary celebrated in 2020
Sir William Osler was a celebrated Canadian physician, described as the Father of Modern Medicine, and was one of the four founding professors of Johns Hopkins Hospital, founder of the History of Medicine Section of the Royal Society of Medicine, and of the Association of Physicians.
13 Norham Gardens
Green Templeton’s premises include 13 Norham Gardens, Sir Osler’s residence in Oxford, which started as a meeting place and source of inspiration for medical students, physicians, scientists and academic visitors. Sir William acquired the premises in 1905, two years after his appointment to the Regius Professorship of Medicine. Under Sir William’s stewardship it became known as ‘The Open Arms’ due to the warm welcome for academics from all over the world that would meet there. After Osler’s time, it was also occupied by two other Regius Professors: Sir George Pickering and Sir Richard Doll, first Warden of Green College, which merged with Templeton College in 2008 to form Green Templeton.
13 Norham Gardens is home to the Osler-McGovern Centre, which promotes the integration of the art and science of medicine by uniting a community of scholars through programmes involving lectures, seminars, workshops, conferences, visiting scholars and post-doctoral fellows. Osler’s Library, preserved by Green Templeton, provides a living history of medical and public health studies at the University of Oxford including the WHO global History of Leprosy and a substantial collection of books on Traditional, Alternative and Complementary Medicine. 13 Norham Gardens is also home to the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.
Sir William Osler portrait with Emeritus Fellow Professor Terence Ryan and outgoing Principal Professor Denise Lievesley.
On the 26 January 2020, the centenary of Sir William‘s death on 29 December 1919 was commemorated with a presentation and unveiling of a new portrait at his former residence. The portrait of Sir William was created by the artist Tarleton Blackwell, who based his portrait of William Osler on a 1913 photograph taken at Johns Hopkins. Blackwell’s interpretation draws upon descriptions of Osler and previous portraits. More of his work can be seen on his website.
The painting was commissioned and funded by Professor Charles S. Bryan, who generously donated it to 13 Norham Gardens, and who unveiled it at the event with a welcome from outgoing Principal Professor Denise Lievesley. Charles is Heyward Gibbes Distinguished Professor of Internal Medicine Emeritus at the University of South Carolina, Columbia. Generous contributions from friends including the McGovern Fund in Houston, Texas, Dr John P McGovern himself, and the Patrick Trust enabled the college to purchase 13 Norham Gardens.
A range of further centenary events and symposia have celebrated Osler’s life and work through 2020. The Oslerian is a newsletter published quarterly by the American Osler Society, and explored the Oxford centenary seminars with the underlying theme ‘For Health and Wellbeing Science and Humanity are one’ in its February 2020 issue. These events are also explored in a piece in Research Outreach, exploring two studies mentored by Emeritus Fellow Professor Terence Ryan that demonstrate that friendliness can be just as therapeutic as clinical medicine. The studies are centred on the principles of Sir William Osler, that explore how friendship can impact on health and wellbeing. Sir William maintained that science and humanity must work together holistically. Two global interventions are described in which Science and Oslerian friendship support therapeutic caring of the neglected in India and China.
Osler’s legacy clearly continues as strongly as ever reaching its second century, with growing awareness of the need to close the gap between science and the humanities to improve healthcare for all.
