Location

W 31st Street & Wyman Park Drive (Street View)

GPS: 39° 19′ 29.35″ N 76° 37′ 15.72″ W

History

The story of formal dentistry begins with Chapin A Harris. Between 1839 and 1840, Harris was instrumental in starting the first dental college, the first society for dental surgeons, and the first dental publication, the American Journal of Dental Science. The original list of subscribers to this pamphlet was discovered by G V Black, the seminal dentist to use nitrous oxide, and published thereafter, providing a transcript of the origins of dentistry. Harris published numerous books during his lifetime, many of which were used as medical guides throughout the world. He acted as dean and as a professor at the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery until his untimely death in 1860.

Notes

Nestled within a loosely trimmed hedge, the memorial bust rests atop a podium with Chapin’s last name and life dates on the front. Harris wears a dignified jacket with scarf and stands facing the university’s main campus. The sculpture, dedicated in 1922, is yet another piece created by Baltimore’s Edward Berge. Directly south, on Wyman Park Drive, is the double equestrian statue of General Robert E Lee and General Stonewall Jackson.

Nearby

• Lee & Jackson
• WWII Seviceman’s Memorial at JHU

Links

• The Principles and Practice of Dentistry (a book by Harris)
• On Panoramio & Flickr

Location

In front of Shriver Hall on Johns Hopkins University’s main campus

GPS: 39° 19′ 36.46″ N 76° 37′ 12.50″ W

History

H L Mencken, once known as the Sage of Baltimore, wrote a 1935 Baltimore Sun article about William H Welch and his life of excess. According to Mencken, Welch had little or no concern with his own health, instead concentrating on the conditions of others. He chose study over sleep, food instead of diet, and meditation before activity. He was a career physician, having learned at Yale and in Germany, eventually becoming the first dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. During his later career he was elected president of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Medical Association, accomplishments only trumped by his various appetites. William Welch was a beer for breakfast kind of guy, yet he was able to move the medical profession as far forward as anyone in his generation. He lived to be eighty-four years old.

Notes

To the left of Shriver Hall’s entrance, on Johns Hopkins University’s main campus, the statue stands tall on it’s pedestal. To the memorial’s immediate left is the Isaiah Bowman Bust, with Daniel Coit Gilman’s monument only a few paces beyond that. Welch is posed with his right hand’s index finger pointing upward, as though he were making one final speech. Sidney Waugh created the structure and it was erected in 1957.

Nearby

• Daniel Coit Gilman
• Isaiah Bowman Bust
• Spirit of Music

Links

• H L Mencken article in Baltimore Sun on Welch
• On Panoramio & Flickr