William Henry Welch : a biographical sketch / Simon Flexner.

  • Simon Flexner
Date:
[1920?]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: William Henry Welch : a biographical sketch / Simon Flexner. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    discovery and for carrying the benefits of medical knowledge to the furthest parts of the world. The achievements of Welch as an investigator, teacher and reformer in medicine are so many and varied that it is not possible to do justice to them in detail in a mere sketch. This is particularly true of that part of his career covered by the Baltimore and Johns Hopkins period. These three noble volumes of his collected papers and addresses are the best expression of his many-sided activities. And yet precious as they are, they afford no real insight into Welch’s almost flawless personality, the depth of his friendship and wealth of his kindness, his faculty of intense application and devotion to the work in hand whether in laboratory or in public interest, his com¬ manding influence and guiding spirit over the work of his associates and many pupils, the stimulating wholesomeness of his public activities, and his rarely unselfish and tolerant nature which led him to shower his great gifts prodigally and far and wide. The recipient of almost every honor in the gift of his colleagues, he fortunately, in time, saw the return of his labors, increased many-fold, enriching science through progress made in education, in deeds performed and discoveries by the men and institutions over whose destinies he had presided. And lastly these volumes fail to show us still another side of Welch’s accomplishments as remarkable almost as those of the science we so love to laud in him. I refer to his culture outside the realm of medicine in the field of literature, in which he possesses an almost unerring taste for the best in poetry and prose, and in the domain of the fine arts. His mind is indeed stored with the beautiful creations of other men’s minds from ancient times to our own day. It is to all these remarkable qualities, innate and acquired, united in one man, that we owe that thrice rare personality William Henry Welch, master in medicine and beloved of men. Simon Flexner.
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