Contains the personal and professional papers of Wilburt Cornell Davison (1897-1972), pediatrician, chair of pediatrics, and first dean of Duke University School of Medicine (1927-1960). Types of materials include correspondence, subject files, memorabilia, scrapbooks, photographs, clippings, programs, budgets, reports, deeds, poems, manuscript materials, creative writings, genealogical materials, article reprints, diplomas, and certificates and invitations. Oversized diplomas and certificates have been separated from this collection. Major correspondents include George G. Allen, Atala Davison, Jay M. Arena, F. Vernon Altvater, Bessie Baker, William B. Bell, William Preston Few, Wiley D. Forbus, Frederic Moir Hanes, Elizabeth Hanes, Julian Deryl Hart, Sir William Osler, Talmage Peele, Wilder Penfield, Watson S. Rankin, Josiah Trent, and Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans. Major groups and associations in the collection include Alpha Omega Alpha, American Hospital Association, American Medical Association, Association of American Medical Colleges, Lincoln Hospital, Rockefeller Foundation, and Society for Pediatric Research. Major subjects in this collection include pediatrics, medical education, Duke University School of Medicine, Duke University faculty and students, Duke Hospital, and Private Diagnostic Clinic. Materials date from 1881 to 1972.

Contains materials include correspondence, subject files, memorabilia, scrapbooks, photographs, clippings, programs, budgets, reports, deeds, poems, manuscript materials, creative writings, genealogical materials, article reprints, diplomas, certificates and invitations pertaining to the career of Wilburt Cornell Davison. Materials date from 1881 to 1972.

Contains the professional records of Dr. Wiley Davis Forbus (1894-1976), MD, professor and chair of the Department of Pathology at Duke University from 1930 to 1964; Area Consultant in Pathology for the Veterans Administration from 1948 through the 1960s; "chief mover" (Baker, 1959) of the North Carolina Medical Examiner's System; and Medical Education Consultant in Europe and the "Far East" from 1953 to the 1960s. Major subjects include the Department of Pathology, the Duke University School of Medicine, nursing and medical education, autopsies, the early history of Duke University, the Veterans Administration, Duke Pathological Services, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, medical education in the "Far East" in the 1950s and early 1960s, race relations in North Carolina, small hospitals in North Carolina, Medico-Legal concepts and practices, history of medicine in North Carolina, and early Hodgkin's disease research. These records include but are not limited to abstracts, accounts, annual reports, budgets, committee files, correspondence, course outlines, curriculum, curriculum vitae, lectures, manuscripts, memoranda, minutes, monographs, photographs, plans, proceedings, programs, protocols, publications, recommendations, reports, and schedules. An effort was made to cross reference when possible and list the contents and major topics within each folder on the folder tab for easy use. Materials date from 1849 to 1979 with the bulk of the materials dating from 1923 to 1979.

Organized into 16 series. The first 13 of the series were created by topic derived from the original folder titles. The topic related series include: Pathology Department Records; Duke Pathological Service (DPS) Records; Autopsy Records; Medico-Legal Case Records; Veterans Administration Records; Pathology Teaching Material; Duke University Committees; Organizations; Conferences; Manuscripts, Addresses, Speeches, Lectures; Hodgkin's Disease Brucella Research Materials; Correspondence; and Foreign Medical Education Sabbaticals. The last 3 series: Printed Materials, Photos, and Restricted were created because of storage, formatting, or legal considerations. There are numerous types of materials found in the collection including but not limited to documents, reports, photos, reprints and correspondence. Care was made to detail at an item level the types of materials and some of the topics found in each folder. This information is written on the folder tab for quick identification. Please note that whenever possible the terms used for groups of people and places in the records were used in the folder descriptions and may appear outdated.

The strength of the collection is found within the Pathology Department Records Series, 1923-1966; Duke Pathological Service (DPS) Records Series, 1924-1960; Veterans Administration Records Series, 1946-1960; Pathology Teaching Materials Series, 1930-1962; Duke University Committees Series, 1927-1969; Organizations Series, 1928-1973; and Foreign Medical Education Sabbaticals Series, 1948-1971. These series provide a historical overview of the inception and development of the Pathology Department and teaching program at Duke, the formation of Duke University, its School of Medicine, Duke Hospital and its affiliations with other North Carolina Hospitals. The development of the Veterans Administration Hospital network, its processes and procedures, and the relationship between Duke Hospital and the Durham VA Hospital are also evident. The Organizations series illustrates the power and interconnectivity of medical professional organizations throughout the South and nationally. For example, the MSNNC's committee on the Coroner System conceived of and lobbied for the legislation that created the Medical Examiner's System in the state. The Foreign Medical Education Sabbaticals series provides evidence and context for the midcentury influence of the United States of America over the development of medical teaching facilities in Asia and Europe and the decline of that influence. Some societal issues included in records are the tensions associated with establishing an institutional reputation, race and gender relations, Segregation, and procuring qualified staff and students during WWII.

Contains abstracts, accounts, agendas, agreements, announcements, annual reports, awards, ballots, bills, budgets, bulletins, certificates, charts, clippings, committee files, contracts, correspondence, course outlines, curriculum, curriculum vitae, diagrams, diaries, drawings, greetings cards, itineraries, journals, lectures, ledgers, letters, lists, maps, manuscripts, memoranda, minutes, monographs, newsletters, notes, organizational charts, outlines, photographs, plans, postcards, proceedings, programs, protocols, publications, recommendations, recordings, registers, regulations, reports, reprints, schedules, scrapbooks, shorthand notes, specifications, building, tables, telegrams, tickets, time records, transcriptions, and travel vouchers regarding the professional career of Wiley D. Forbus. Languages include English, French, German, Japanese, Chinese (unspecified), Italian, and Indonesian among others. Materials date from 1849 to 1979 with the bulk of the materials dating from 1923 to 1979.