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Sara E. Branham Papers

 Collection
Identifier: MS C 528

Abstract

Correspondence and collected offprints of Sarah Branham, senior bacteriologist at the Hygienic Laboratory. Her research expertise centered on influenza and meningococcal infections.

Dates

  • 1930-1986 (bulk 1930-1962)

Extent

0.63 Linear Feet (2 boxes)

Physical Location

Materials stored onsite. History of Medicine Division. National Library of Medicine

Language of Materials

Collection materials primarily in English

Access Restrictions

No restrictions on access.

Copyright and Re-use Information

Copyright was not transferred to the public domain.

Privacy Information

Archives and manuscript collections may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in any collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications for which the National Library of Medicine assumes no responsibility.

Biographical Note

Sarah Elizabeth Branham was born July 25, 1888 in Oxford, Georgia. Originally a biology teacher, she eventually became a major figure in the world of bacteriology. She received her degree in biology from Wesleyan College (Macon, GA) in 1907 and continued to earn graduate degrees in zoology and chemistry (University of Colorado, 1919), in bacteriology (PhD, University of Chicago, 1920; 1923; 1934), and her MD in 1934, also from Chicago.

When she first arrived in Chicago in 1919, the aeteology of the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic was a continuing problem, so her advisor suggested influenza for her thesis. Her ensuing research on filterable agents was productive, leading to over a dozen publications, and eventually to her earning an Instructor position.

In 1927, she became an Associate at the University of Rochester School of Medicine under the tutelage of Stanhope Bayne-Jones. Shortly after arriving at the University, her career took a new path thanks to an outbreak of meningococcus that had arrived in California from China. The Hygenic Laboratory of the United States Public Health Service (the predecessor of the National Institutes of Health) brought her in to investigate the deadly outbreak. It was during this time that Branham began studying the Nesisseria meningitides strain of the disease: she eventually became an international expert on it, staying at NIH the remainder of her career. In time, Branham was the first to show that sulfa drugs were more effective than the antiserum of the time to combat meningitis. While at NIH, Branham also studied the toxins produced by Shigella dysenteriae and contributed greatly to the taxonomy of Neisseria. As recognition for her work with Neisseria, the non-pathogenic strain Neisseria catarrhalis was renamed Branhamella (catarrhalis) in 1974.

Numerous honors were bestowed on Branham over the years, including the Howard Taylor Ricketts Prize in 1924 from the University of Chicago, honorary degrees from the University of Chicago (1937) and Wesleyan College (1950), and Woman of the Year from the American Medical Women's Association (1959). She was also active in many scientific societies, including the Society of American Bacteriologists (later, the American Society for Microbiology). She was a delegate at the First and Second International Congresses in Microbiology in 1930 (Paris) and 1936 (London).

A student and later colleague of hers commented that she was as comfortable entertaining in a chiffon dress as she was in a lab coat. She kept a meticulous home and lawn and was a knowledgeable ornithologist and gardener. In 1945, at the age of 57, she married Philip S. Matthews, a retired businessman. Matthews passed away four years later and Branham never married again. Branham passed away suddenly following a heart attack at the age of 74, on November 16, 1962. She was buried in her family plot in Oxford, Georgia.

Collection Summary

The small collection of personal papers primarily contains professional correspondence during the 1930s-early 1960s as well as some lectures and published works. Specifically of note is the correspondence between Branham and two colleagues, E.G.D. Murray and Arthur Hitchens. The letters discuss their current research activities and demonstrate the collaborative nature of scientific work necessary in early microbiology. Letters between Murray and Branham often involve asking one or the other to send live meningococcus strains, as they were difficult to maintain in the laboratory. Murray was performing similar studies in England and Canada, and Hitchens worked for the University of Pennsylvania. Also included is a complete bound version of her reprints, an autographed copy of an AAAS publication on Gonococcus that she contributed to, and a special issue of the journal Drugs, vol. 31, supplement 3 (1986) containing articles from a symposium on Branhamella catarrhalis.

Abstract

Correspondence and collected offprints of Sarah Branham, senior bacteriologist at the Hygienic Laboratory. Her research expertise centered on influenza and meningococcal infections.

Physical Location

Materials stored onsite. History of Medicine Division. National Library of Medicine

Provenance

Gift, Dr. Margaret Pittman, 1989 Sept. 21, Accession #605. Transfers from Margaret Pittman Papers, Acc. #2011-004.

General

Processed by
John P. Rees; Greg Pike
Encoded by
John P. Rees
Title
Finding Aid to the Sara E. Branham Papers, 1930-1986 (bulk 1930-1962)
Status
Unverified Partial Draft
Author
John P. Rees; Greg Pike
Date
2003; 2011
Language of description
English
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
Finding aid is written in English
Edition statement
2.0

Collecting Area Details

Part of the Archives and Modern Manuscripts Collection Collecting Area

Contact:
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