David Tillerson Smith Papers, 1920-1970

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Summary

Creator:
Smith, David Tillerson
Abstract:
Contains the professional papers of David Tillerson Smith (1898-1981), James B. Duke Professor of Microbiology and chair of the Department of Microbiology (1930-1958) and associate professor of Medicine in the Department of Preventive Medicine (1950-1966) at Duke University. Types of materials include correspondence with individuals and organizations, research notes, clippings, article reprints, and manuscript materials. Major subjects include the Duke University School of Medicine, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Department of Preventive Medicine, Turdeau Sanatarium, the research and teaching of microbiology, tuberculosis, pellagra, mycology, and bacteriology. Materials range in date from 1920 to 1970.
Extent:
8 Linear Feet (5 cartons, 1 manuscript box)
Language:
English
Collection ID:
MC.0085

Background

Scope and content:

Documents the professional career of David Tillerson Smith. Types of materials include correspondence with individuals and organizations, research notes, clippings, article reprints, and manuscript materials. Major subjects include the Duke University School of Medicine, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Department of Preventive Medicine, Turdeau Sanatarium, the research and teaching of microbiology, tuberculosis, pellagra, mycology, and bacteriology. Materials range in date from 1920 to 1970.

Biographical / historical:

David Tillerson Smith (1898-1981) received degrees from Furman University (AB, 1918, Honorary D. Lit., 1949) and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (MD, 1922). Smith continued to work at Johns Hopkins as an intern in pediatrics for one year after graduation. He then went to work at the Rockefeller Institute in New York to study pathology and bacteriology.
During the course of his studies, Smith contracted a severe case of tuberculosis and suffered a pulmonary hemorrhage. During his recovery, he served as the bacteriologist, pathologist, and director of the Research Laboratory at the New York Hospital for Tuberculosis. He studied tuberculosis and other non-TB diseases of the chest and completed a book on fusospirochetal diseases during this time.
After joining Duke University in 1930, Smith served as the James B. Duke Professor of Microbiology, chair of the Department of Microbiology (1930-1958), and associate professor of medicine in the Department of Preventive Medicine (1950-1966). His research at Duke was dedicated to diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of chronic bacterial, mycotic, and nutritional diseases such as tuberculosis, brucellosis, blastomycosis, and pellagra.
During his tenure at Duke University, Smith served on many committees including the Committee on Health Affairs, Committee on Staff Rank Categories, Library Committee, and Medical Staff Advisory Committee. He also acted as an administrator and examiner on the National Board Examinations for medical students. In the early 1940s, Smith was asked by the armed forces to prepare a military manual of clinical mycology to aid them in the care of soldiers in the South Pacific during World War II. The book, "Manual of Clinical Microbiology," grew in scope, added coauthors, and became an important reference work for medical mycologists. Over the next 30 years, the book continued to be revised by Smith, coauthors Norman F. Conant and Roger Denio Baker, and the Duke University Department of Microbiology. Some of Smith's other publications include "Diseases Due to Fungi" (1941), "Fungus Diseases of the Lungs" (1947 and 1963), and "Tuberculosis in North Carolina" (1963).
Smith was a member of the Durham-Orange County Medical Society, Durham County Tuberculosis Association, American Society of Pathologists and Bacteriologists, the Society of American Microbiologists, the American Society of Immunology, the American Thoracic Association, and the American Academy of Microbiologists. He served on the board of directors of the National Tuberculosis Association (1934-1970). Smith received many honors for his teaching and research. He was named "best preclinical teacher" by the Duke University student body. He received the Trudeau Medal for research on tuberculosis (1957) and the Medal for Distinguished Service from the Southern Tuberculosis Conference (1958). He also received the James D. Bruce Memorial Medal for activities in preventive medicine (1970).
Smith was married to Susan Gower Smith, a research assistant in nutrition at Duke University. Smith died in 1981 in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Acquisition information:
Source unknown (acquired, circa 1981)
Processing information:

Processed by Emily Glenn: August 2003

Arrangement:
Organized into the following series: Subject Files, undated; Manuscript Materials, 1953; Correspondence, 1939-1969; Reprints and Memorabilia, 1920-1970.
Physical location:
For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.

Contents

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Restrictions:

This collection may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals or IRB approval may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which Duke University assumes no responsibility.
Files in box 5 must be screened for sensitive or confidential materials before being accessed. For further information consult with the Medical Center Archivist.

Terms of access:

Copyright for Official University records is held by Duke University; all other copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], David Tillerson Smith Papers, Duke University Medical Center Archives.