Organized Collections
Advisory Committees to the Surgeons General of the War and Navy Departments and U.S. Public Health Service
The Correspondence Files of the National Research Council Division of Medical Sciences’ Advisory Committees to the Surgeons General of the War and Navy Departments and U.S. Public Health Service
Against the backdrop of the war in Europe, in April 1940 Lewis Weed, Chairman of the National Research Council’s Division of Medical Sciences, offered the services of the Division to advise the Army and Navy on medical problems relevant to the armed services. Soon afterward, James Magee, Surgeon General of the Army, requested Weed to establish committees to provide advice to the Army Medical Corps. One month later, following the concurrence of the Surgeons General of the Navy Department and the U. S. Public Health Service, the first two committees - one on chemotherapeutics, the other on transfusions - were organized. With the entry of the United States into the war in December 1941, the number and scope of medical problems confronting the armed services multiplied. Accordingly, over the course of the war, the Division of Medical Sciences’ Advisory Committees to the Surgeons General eventually grew to encompass fourteen committees and 42 subcommittees. (For a listing of these committees with their chairmen and dates of origin, see the Roster of Advisory Committees to the Surgeons General of the War and Navy Departments and U.S. Public Health Service.)
Working through the Federal Government’s Committee on Medical Research (CMR), which was placed under the Office of Scientific Research and Development, the Advisory Committees provided professional advice and served to plan and administer medical research projects related to the war effort. In practical terms, this meant that the committees would meet, sponsor conferences on medical topics, submit reports and recommendations, and allocate research projects to investigators affiliated with various institutions. In fact the bulk of the Advisory Committees’ correspondence files document activities of this type. (A separate records group containing the Advisory Committees’ reports, bulletins, and meeting records exists in microfilm.)
With the end of the war, the Advisory Committees’ work was largely finished. Most of the committees were disbanded, although some continued to function into the early postwar years.
The correspondence files of the Advisory Committees to the Surgeons General of the War and Navy Departments and U.S. Public Health Service span approximately eighteen linear feet in nine file cabinet drawers. The files cover the years 1940-1948, with the bulk of the collection covering 1940-1945.
DRAWER 1
Series 1: Subject Files
American College of Physicians & American College of Surgeons: 1941-1943
American Pharmaceutical Association: 1942-1943
American Pharmaceutical Manufacturer’s Assn: 1944-1945
American Red Cross: 1941-1946
Cabasil: Kabnick S: 1940-1945
Chlorophyll (Milkweed Products): 1944-1945
Commercial Products: 1943-1945
Commercial Products: 1941-1943
Committee on Medical Research: 1940-1944
Committee on Military Medicine: Organization Proposed: 1941
Committee on Records of War Administration: 1941-1942
Covermark: 1943
Fulton Dr. John F: European Diary: Oct-Dec 1940
Fulton Dr. John F: General Correspondence: 1940-1941
Kalusoff: Benchlophen: 1942-1945
Knott Treatment: 1944
Life Raft Equipment: 1942-1944
Mafoliata: 1940-1943
Melarsen: 1942-1943
Merck Company: 1942
Parke-Davis Company: 1942
Peda-Spray: 1941-1947
Pharmacopeia: 1941
Reports of Committee Activities: 1942-1946
Rules for Animal Experimentation: 1941
Russo: Wound Clips & Scissor Cast Cutter: 1943-1945
Selective Service System: 1941-1944
Ultraviolet Blood Irradiation: 1941
War Production Board: 1942-1945
Series 2: Conferences
Burns: 1942
Exposure to Cold: 1943
Massive Dose Arsenotherapy: 1942-1943
Nutrition: 1942
Offensive Weapons in Relation to Injury: 1942
Peripheral Nerve Injury: 1941-1943
Physical Fitness: 1944
Pulmonary Edema: 1944
Shark Barracuda & Jellyfish: 1942-1945
WAAC VD: 1942-1943
Wound Ballistics: 1943-1946
Series 3: Special Manuals
Clinical Mycology Manual: 1943-1945
Dermatology Manual: 1942-1945
Drug Therapy Manual: 1944
Drug Therapy Manual: 1943
General Field Manual: 1940-1944
Global Epidemiology Manual: 1943-1946
Industrial Medicine Manual: 1943
Jungle Manual: 1942-1943
Laboratory Technicians Manual: 1944-1946
Military Surgical Manuals: 1943-1944
Military Surgical Manuals: 1941-1942
Military Surgical Manuals: 1940-1941
Special Manuals: Correspondence: 1941-1946
Tropical Medicine Manual: 1944-1945
Women in Industry Manual: 1945-1946
Series 4: Allied & Foreign Cooperation
Africa: 1944
Australia: 1941-1946
Australia: Visit to USA of Lee D: 1945-1946
Belgium: 1945
Brazil: 1944
Canada: 1944-1945
Canada: 1943-1944
Canada: 1941-1942
Canada: 1940-1941
China: 1942-1944
England: 1942-1946
England: 1940-1941
New Zealand: 1943-1946
Puerto Rico: 1945
Russia: 1943-1945
Sweden: 1944-1945
DRAWER 2
Series 5: Advisory Committees to Surgeons General of War & Navy Depts & USPHS.
Committee on Aviation Medicine: Advisory Commission A: 1942-1945
Committee on Aviation Medicine: Board of Scientific Advisors: Aeromedical Research Lab: Institute of Aeronautical Sciences: 1942
Committee on Aviation Medicine: Centrifuge Advisory Committee: 1943
Committee on Aviation Medicine: Conferences: Adrenals: 1940-1943
Committee on Aviation Medicine: Conferences: Air Crew Fatigue [Presque Isle]: 1943
Committee on Aviation Medicine: Conferences: Air-Sea Rescue: 1944
Committee on Aviation Medicine: Conferences: Crash Injury: 1944-1945
Committee on Aviation Medicine: Conferences: Silica Aerogel: 1944-1945
Committee on Aviation Medicine: Continuation: 1946
Committee on Aviation Medicine: Contracts in Aviation Medicine: List: 1945
Committee on Aviation Medicine: Cooperation w Foreign Governments: Canada: 1942-1946
Committee on Aviation Medicine: Cooperation w Foreign Governments: England: 1940-1944
Committee on Aviation Medicine: Flexner Correspondence: 1942-1946
Committee on Aviation Medicine: General Correspondence: 1944-1945
Committee on Aviation Medicine: General Correspondence: 1943
Committee on Aviation Medicine: General Correspondence: May-Dec 1942
Committee on Aviation Medicine: General Correspondence: Jan-Apr 1942
Committee on Aviation Medicine: General Correspondence: Dec 1941
Committee on Aviation Medicine: General Correspondence: Oct-Nov 1941
Committee on Aviation Medicine: General Correspondence: Aug-Sep 1941
Committee on Aviation Medicine: General Correspondence: Jun-Jul 1941
Committee on Aviation Medicine: General Correspondence: Apr-May 1941
Committee on Aviation Medicine: General Correspondence: Jan-Mar 1941
Committee on Aviation Medicine: General Correspondence: 1940
Committee on Aviation Medicine: History of CAM: Draft: 1946
Committee on Aviation Medicine: Miscellaneous Correspondence: 1941-1946
Committee on Aviation Medicine: Navy Dept Correspondence: 1943-1946
Committee on Aviation Medicine: Navy Dept Projects: 1943-1944
Committee on Aviation Medicine: Problems: Blast: 1941-1943
Committee on Aviation Medicine: Problems: Drugs: 1942-1944
Committee on Aviation Medicine: Site Visits: Flexner Reports: 1942-1943
Committee on Aviation Medicine: Site Visits: West Coast: 1941-1942
Committee on Aviation Medicine: Site Visits: West Coast: Reports & Correspondence: 1941-1942
Committee on Aviation Medicine: Studies: Tropical Field Investigation: 1945
Committee on Aviation Medicine: Subcommittees: Acceleration: 1945
Committee on Aviation Medicine: Subcommittees: Clothing: 1940-1945
Committee on Aviation Medicine: Subcommittees: Decompression Sickness: 1943-1946
Committee on Aviation Medicine: Subcommittees: Decompression Sickness: 1940-1942
Committee on Aviation Medicine: Subcommittees: Motion Sickness: 1944-1946
Committee on Aviation Medicine: Subcommittees: Motion Sickness: 1942-1943
Committee on Aviation Medicine: Subcommittees: Motion Sickness: Studies: Tyler D: 1943-1944
Committee on Aviation Medicine: Subcommittees: Motion Sickness: General: 1942-1944
Committee on Aviation Medicine: Subcommittees: Oxygen & Anoxia: 1940-1946
Committee on Aviation Medicine: Subcommittees: Oxygen & Anoxia: Problems: Carbon Monoxide: 1942-1944
Committee on Aviation Medicine: Subcommittees: Oxygen & Anoxia: Problems: Oxygen Masks & Equipment: 1942-1943
Committee on Aviation Medicine: Subcommittees: Visual Problems: 1942-1946
Committee on Aviation Medicine: War Dept Correspondence: 1943-1945
Committee on Aviation Medicine: General: 1942-1944
DRAWER 3 (Series 5, continued)
Committee on Chemotherapeutic & Other Agents: 1945-1946
Committee on Chemotherapeutic & Other Agents: 1942-1944
Committee on Chemotherapeutic & Other Agents: 1941-1942
Committee on Chemotherapeutic & Other Agents: 1941
Committee on Chemotherapeutic & Other Agents: 1940
Committee on Chemotherapeutic & Other Agents: Correspondence re Mayo Clinic Investigations: Herrell W E: 1943
Committee on Chemotherapeutic & Other Agents: Correspondence w US Offices of Surgeons General re Penicillin Policy: 1943
Committee on Chemotherapeutic & Other Agents: Penicillin: 1943-1947
Committee on Chemotherapeutic & Other Agents: Penicillin: 1941-1943
Committee on Chemotherapeutic & Other Agents: Streptomycin: 1945-1948
Committee on Chemotherapeutic & Other Agents: Subcommittees: Infectious Diseases: 1940-1941
Committee on Chemotherapeutic & Other Agents: Subcommittees: Surgical Infections: 1941-1942
Committee on Chemotherapeutic & Other Agents: Subcommittees: Surgical Infections: 1940-1941
Committee on Chemotherapeutic & Other Agents: Subcommittees: Tropical Diseases: 1941-1942
Committee on Chemotherapeutic & Other Agents: Subcommittees: Tropical Diseases: 1940-1941
Committee on Chemotherapeutic & Other Agents: Subcommittees: Venereal Diseases: 1941-1942
Committee on Chemotherapeutic & Other Agents: Subcommittees: Venereal Diseases: 1940-1941
Committee on Chemotherapeutic & Other Agents: Subcommittees: Venereal Diseases: State Surveys: 1940-1941
Committee on Chemotherapeutic & Other Agents: Subcommittees: Veterinary Medicine: 1944-1945
Committee on Convalescence & Rehabilitation: 1943-1946
Committee on Drugs & Medical Supplies: Correspondence re Atabrine et al: 1942-1944
Committee on Industrial Medicine: 1943-1946
Committee on Industrial Medicine: 1942-1943
Committee on Industrial Medicine: 1941-1942
Committee on Industrial Medicine: Conference on Artificial Respiration & Respiratories: 1943-1944
Committee on Industrial Medicine: Subcommittees: Armored Vehicles: 1943-1946
Committee on Industrial Medicine: Subcommittees: Armored Vehicles: 1940-1942
Committee on Industrial Medicine: Subcommittees: Personal Relationships in Industry: 1941-1944
Committee on Information: 1941-1946
Committee on Information: 1940-1941
Committee on Information: Subcommittees: Correlation of Information: 1942
Committee on Information: Subcommittees: Correlation of Information: 1940-1941
Committee on Information: Subcommittees: Historical Records: 1942-1946
Committee on Information: Subcommittees: Historical Records: 1942
Committee on Information: Subcommittees: Historical Records: 1941
Committee on Information: Subcommittees: Historical Records: 1940-1941
Committee on Information: Subcommittees: Historical Records: Medical History of War: 1944-1945
Committee on Information: Subcommittees: Historical Records: Medical History of War: Editorial Board: 1941-1944
Committee on Information: Subcommittees: Historical Records: Medical History of War: Prospectus: 1944
Committee on Information: Subcommittees: Publicity: 1940-1946
DRAWER 4 (Series 5, continued)
Committee on Medicine: 1944-1946
Committee on Medicine: 1942-1943
Committee on Medicine: 1941-1942
Committee on Medicine: 1940-1941
Committee on Medicine: Problems: Dermatophytosis (Athlete’s Foot): 1941-1946
Committee on Medicine: Problems: Foot Immersion: 1942-1944
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Cardiovascular Diseases: 1944-1946
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Cardiovascular Diseases: 1940-1943
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Clinical Investigation: 1943-1946
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Clinical Investigation: Jun-Dec 1942
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Clinical Investigation: Jan-May 1942
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Clinical Investigation: 1940-1942
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Coordination of Malarial Studies: DeKruif-Weed Conflict: 1942-1943
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Dermatology: 1944-1946
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Dermatology: 1941-1943
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Diagnosis & Therapeutics: 1940-1942
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Infectious Diseases: 1942-1946
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Infectious Diseases: Streptococcal Infections: 1945
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Medical Nutrition: 1944-1946
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Medical Nutrition: Jul-Dec 1943
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Medical Nutrition: Jan-Jun 1943
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Medical Nutrition: Oct-Dec 1942
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Medical Nutrition: Jan-Sept 1942
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Medical Nutrition: Aug-Dec 1941
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Medical Nutrition: Jan-Jul 1941
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Medical Nutrition: 1940
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Tropical Diseases: 1944-1946
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Tropical Diseases: 1943
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Tropical Diseases: 1942
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Tropical Diseases: Abbitt W H: 1945
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Tropical Diseases: Ambiasis: Fair G: 1944-1946
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Tropical Diseases: Antinomy: 1943-1946
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Tropical Diseases: Brown H W: 1944-1945
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Tropical Diseases: Chemotherapy of Tropical Diseases: 1944-1947
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Tropical Diseases: Cholera: 1945
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Tropical Diseases: Cholera: 1944-1945
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Tropical Diseases: Dysentery Vaccine: 1941-1945
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Tropical Diseases: Filariasis: 1944
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Tropical Diseases: Filariasis: 1943-1944
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Tropical Diseases: Fungus: 1944-1946
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Tropical Diseases: Fungus: Hillegas A B: 1944-1945
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Tropical Diseases: Fungus: Keeney E: 1944
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Tropical Diseases: Fungus Infections of Skin: 1944
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Tropical Diseases: General Correspondence: 1944-1945
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Tropical Diseases: Insect Repellants: 1944
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Tropical Diseases: Insect Repellants: 1943
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Tropical Diseases: Insect Repellants: Sept-Dec 1942
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Tropical Diseases: Insect Repellants: 1940-1942
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Tropical Diseases: Lectures in Tropical Medicine: 1943
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Tropical Diseases: Lectures in Tropical Medicine: 1942
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Tropical Diseases: Lectures: Meleney: 1943-1944
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Tropical Diseases: Leishmaniasis: 1943-1944
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Tropical Diseases: Plague Cholera & Typhus Vaccines: 1940-1945
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Tropical Diseases: Schistosomiasis: 1943-1946
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Tropical Diseases: Trypanosomiasis: 1943-1945
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Tropical Diseases: Typhus & Scrub Typhus: 1944
DRAWER 5 (Series 5, continued)
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Tuberculosis: 1940-1946
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Venereal Diseases: 1945-1946
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Venereal Diseases: 1943-1944
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Venereal Diseases: 1943
Committee on Medicine: Subcommittees: Venereal Diseases: 1942
Committee on Neuropsychiatry: Conference on Group Psychotherapy: 1944
Committee on Neuropsychiatry: Conference on Psychosomatic Disorders: 1942-1943
Committee on Neuropsychiatry: Occupational Therapy: 1942-1944
Committee on Neuropsychiatry: Subcommittees: Neurology: 1940-1946
Committee on Neuropsychiatry: Subcommittees: Personnel Training: 1940-1943
Committee on Neuropsychiatry: Subcommittees: Psychiatry: 1942-1946
Committee on Neuropsychiatry: Subcommittees: Psychiatry: 1940-1941
Committee on Neuropsychiatry: Subcommittees: War Neuroses: Morale: 1941-1942
Committee on Neuropsychiatry: Subcommittees: War Neuroses: General: 1942-1943
Committee on Neuropsychiatry: Subcommittees: War Neuroses: General: 1940-1941
Committee on Neuropsychiatry: General: 1944-1946
Committee on Neuropsychiatry: General: 1942-1943
Committee on Neuropsychiatry: General: 1940-1941
Committee on Pathology: 1943-1946
Committee on Pathology: 1942-1943
Committee on Pathology: Conference on Pathology: 1942
Committee on Shock & Transfusions: 1943-1945
Committee on Shock & Transfusions: 1942
Committee on Shock & Transfusions: Subcommittees: Blood Substitutes: Jun 1944-Sept 1946
Committee on Shock & Transfusions: Subcommittees: Blood Substitutes: Jan-May 1944
Committee on Shock & Transfusions: Subcommittees: Blood Substitutes: Jul-Dec 1943
Committee on Shock & Transfusions: Subcommittees: Blood Substitutes: Jan-Jun 1943
Committee on Shock & Transfusions: Subcommittees: Blood Substitutes: Sept-Dec 1942
Committee on Shock & Transfusions: Subcommittees: Blood Substitutes: Apr-Aug 1942
Committee on Shock & Transfusions: Subcommittees: Blood Substitutes: Albumin Byproducts: Albumin Testing: 1942-1944
Committee on Shock & Transfusions: Subcommittees: Blood Substitutes: 1 Fibrin Film 2 Blood Group Specific Substances 3 Blood Coagulant Report: 1942-1945
Committee on Shock & Transfusions: Subcommittees: Blood Substitutes: Gelatin: Pectin Conference: 1942-1944
Committee on Shock & Transfusions: Subcommittees: Blood Substitutes: Preparation of Human Serum Albumin: 1943
Committee on Shock & Transfusions: Subcommittees: Shock: 1943-1948
Committee on Shock & Transfusions: Subcommittees: Shock: 1942-1943
DRAWER 6 (Series 5, continued)
Committee on Surgery: 1943-1945
Committee on Surgery: 1940-1942
Committee on Surgery: Subcommittees: Anesthesia: 1942-1946
Committee on Surgery: Subcommittees: Anesthesia: 1940-1941
Committee on Surgery: Subcommittees: Burns: 1943
Committee on Surgery: Subcommittees: Burns: Oct-Dec 1942
Committee on Surgery: Subcommittees: Burns: Jan-Sept 1942
Committee on Surgery: Subcommittees: Burns: Report on Detergents: 1943
Committee on Surgery: Subcommittees: Burns: Report on Detergents: 1942
Committee on Surgery: Subcommittees: Infected Wounds & Burns: 1944-1946
Committee on Surgery: Subcommittees: Infected Wounds & Burns: 1943-1944
Committee on Surgery: Subcommittees: Neurosurgery: 1943-1946
Committee on Surgery: Subcommittees: Neurosurgery: 1940-1942
Committee on Surgery: Subcommittees: Neurosurgery: Davis L: Report upon the Surgical Mission to the Soviet Union: 1943
Committee on Surgery: Subcommittees: Neurosurgery: Naffziger’s African Notes: 1943
Committee on Surgery: Subcommittees: Ophthalmology: 1944-1946
Committee on Surgery: Subcommittees: Ophthalmology: 1943
Committee on Surgery: Subcommittees: Ophthalmology: Jun-Dec 1942
Committee on Surgery: Subcommittees: Ophthalmology: 1940-1942
Committee on Surgery: Subcommittees: Orthopedic Surgery: 1943-1946
Committee on Surgery: Subcommittees: Orthopedic Surgery: 1940-1943
Committee on Surgery: Subcommittees: Orthopedic Surgery: Panel on Amputations [Artificial Limb Conference]: 1945
Committee on Surgery: Subcommittees: Otolaryngology: 1943-1946
Committee on Surgery: Subcommittees: Otolaryngology: 1940-1943
Committee on Surgery: Subcommittees: Physical Therapy: 1940-1946
Committee on Surgery: Subcommittees: Plastic & Maxillofacial Surgery: 1940-1946
Committee on Surgery: Subcommittees: Radiology: 1940-1945
Committee on Surgery: Subcommittees: Surgical Infections: 1942-1943
Committee on Surgery: Subcommittees: Surgical Specialties: 1940-1942
Committee on Surgery: Subcommittees: Thoracic Surgery Urology & Vascular Injury: 1940-1944
DRAWER 7 (Series 5, continued)
Committee on Transfusions: 1940-1941
Committee on Transfusions: Subcommittees: Blood Procurement: 1942-1943
Committee on Transfusions: Subcommittees: Blood Procurement: Jul-Dec 1941
Committee on Transfusions: Subcommittees: Blood Procurement: May-Jun 1941
Committee on Transfusions: Subcommittees: Blood Procurement: 1940-1941
Committee on Transfusions: Subcommittees: Blood Procurement: Rhoads’ Report: 1941
Committee on Transfusions: Subcommittees: Blood Substitutes: 1941-1942
Committee on Transfusions: Subcommittees: Blood Substitutes: Apr-Aug 1941
Committee on Transfusions: Subcommittees: Blood Substitutes: 1940-1941
Committee on Transfusions: Subcommittees: Shock: Jul-Dec1941
Committee on Transfusions: Subcommittees: Shock: 1940-1941
Committee on Treatment of Gas Casualties: 1945-1947
Committee on Treatment of Gas Casualties: 1944
Committee on Treatment of Gas Casualties: Jul-Dec 1943
Committee on Treatment of Gas Casualties: Jan-Jun 1943
Committee on Treatment of Gas Casualties: Jul-Dec 1942
Committee on Treatment of Gas Casualties: Jan-Jun 1942
Committee on Treatment of Gas Casualties: 1940-1941
Office of Medical Information: 1942-1946
Series 6: Other NRC Committees on War-Related Medical Problems
Advisory Committee on Scientific Publications: 1941-1944
Committee on Medical Problems of Civil Aviation: 1946
Committee on Medical Problems of Civil Aviation: Jun-Dec 1945
Committee on Medical Problems of Civil Aviation: Jan-May 1945
Committee on Medical Problems of Civil Aviation: Sept-Dec 1944
Committee on Medical Problems of Civil Aviation: Jul-Aug 1944
Committee on Medical Problems of Civil Aviation: Jan-Jun 1944
Committee on Medical Records: 1943-1944
Committee on Prosthetic Devices: 1946-1947
Committee on Prosthetic Devices: 1945-1946
Committee on Prosthetic Devices: 1943-1945
Committee on Prosthetic Devices: Activities: 1945
Committee on Prosthetic Devices: Commercial: 1945
