Special Anniversary Issue
IntcRcom
duke uniucRsity mc6icM ccntaR
VOLUME 17, NUMBER 19 NOVEMBER 18, 1970 DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA
Duke University Medical Center
40 Years of Service to Mankind
When James B. Duke set up his
indenture establishing the University in
1924, he dreamed of building "the best
medical center between Baltimore and
New Orleans."
Since Duke University Medical Center
opened in 1930, tens of thousands of
faculty members, staff, students, and
employes have worked toward that goal,
and in the opinion of many, far surpassed
it.
Mr. Duke's interest in hospitals and
care for the sick may have been started
by an encounter with a young boy while
Mr. Duke was watching the building of a
power plant at Lake James, N.C.
"Mister," the small boy said, "can you
cure fits?"
"Do you have fits?" Mr. Duke replied.
The boy answered, "Yes, sir, and if
something ain't done for me they'll kill
me."
Though some of the men working on
the power plant were amused by the
incident, Mr. Duke was interested in the
child and ordered that he get medical
treatment immediately.
In his will, Mr. Duke bequeathed to
the Duke Endowment 10 million dollars
for Duke University, four million of
which was to be used to build the medical
school, hospital, and nurses home he had
dreamed of.
The First Dean
On January 19, 1927, Dr. W.C.
Davison, then on the medical faculty at
the Johns Hopkins University, was named
Duke's first dean of medicine. The
appointment was announced by a short
telegram to Dr. Davison from Dr. William
Preston Few, then president of the
Li
FROM THE AIR — This photo of the newly constructed Duke Hospital and School of
Medicine appeared on the cover of the Duke Alumni Register aX the time of the Hospital's
opening in 1930. The structure was "bent" between the Hospital and medical school
sections, according to Dr. W.C. Davison, to permit a maximum amount of sunlight into
the patient care areas.
University. It read, "You have been
elected. Delighted with prospect of
working with you."
Two months later. Dr. Davison made
his first trip to Durham and looked over
the thousands of acres of forest land from
which the new Duke University would
rise.
In September of that year he moved to
Durham and was given four rooms in a
(continued on page six)
This special edition of Intercom is a
collection of articles about the early
history of the Duke University Medical
Center. Though it is not intended to be a
comprehensive history, we hope it brings
back some memories to long-time em
ployes and provides some enlightening
information for those of us who have
been here only a short time. Comments
are welcome. Box 3354, Hospital.