Irvine H. Page, M.D. Papers

Dr. Page's papers in the National Library of Medicine reflect two distinct phases of his career. The bulk of the collection is devoted to his efforts from 1964 to establish a National Academy of Medicine (NAM). The material is divided into three series. The first documents his initial efforts which led to three organizational meetings for a National Academy in Cleveland in 1967. Included are his initial editorials in Modern Medicine on the need for a National Academy and the responses to his editorials and letters from leaders in American medicine. Among the frequent correspondents are Robert A. Aldrich, William Bean, Colin MacLeod, and Irving S. Wright. The second series is devoted to the records of the Board of Medicine (BOM) of the National Academy of Sciences. Starting in 1967 the BOM became more interested in the question of a National Academy, and from 1968 to 1970 the bulk of Page's efforts took place within the context of the BOM. In 1970 the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academy of Sciences was created, and the third series documents some of the early activities of the IOM. Also included is Page's correspondence leading up to his history of the IOM published in JAMA in 1988. Major correspondents included George Lundberg, Samuel O. Thier and Dwight L. Wilbur.

In addition to his papers on the establishment of the IOM, the Library also has a collection of miscellaneous personal and professional papers, including many of Page's early research reports. Series 5 consists of an accession received shortly before Dr. Page's death on 10 June 1991. It consists of biographical material on Page, his personal and professional correspondence postdating 1968, with the bulk dated after 1984, and his manuscripts and unfinished papers, many of which also contain correspondence. Of special note is his unfinished history of hypertension research. Correspondents from the Cleveland Clinic Foundation include C.M. Ferrario, Ray Gifford, Shattuck W. Hastwell, Bernadine Healey, and William Kiser. Other correspondents include Lois DeBakey, Erwin Di Cyan, Donald Frederickson, Edward Frolich, Jacques Genest, Richard Helms, Tadashi Inagami, Kenneth Kohlstaedt, William Manger, Yoskiaki Masuyama, Bruce Millar (of Grune & Stratton), Marvin Moser, E.E. Muirhead, Russell Ross, James Shannon, Frederick Stare, Paul Vanhoutte, and Dwight Wilbur.

The Publication series consists of Page's editorials for Modern Medicine, and his bound and unbound reprints. Frequently bound with Page's reprints are copies of publications by his colleagues at the Cleveland Clinic. Series 7 contains notebooks from Page's chemistry and other courses at Cornell University and some research notebooks. The series consisting of material not related to the Institute of Medicine should be used in conjunction with the much larger collection of Page papers in the Cleveland Clinic Archives.