May G. Wilson, MD Papers
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Scope and Contents
The May G. Wilson Papers consists of four folders. There is no biographical information included within the collection. Rather, the collection highlights Dr. Wilson’s medical research and publications, with its four folders comprised of her research data and reprints of her articles.
The first folder of the collection contains documentation regarding Dr. Wilson’s experiments on lymphocyte response to antigens and the data collected during these experiments. The next two folders contain reprints of Dr. Wilson’s published articles, some in a bound volume and the rest loose. The fourth and final folder contains two copies of the Society of the New York Hospital news bulletin, the Record. This issue was likely retained by Dr. Wilson and has been selected for retention by the Medical Center Archives because of its discussion of the history of New York Hospital’s Rheumatic Cardiac Clinic and Dr. Wilson’s efforts as supervisor of the clinic. These four folders comprise the collection’s sole series: Research Data and Publications (1934-1965).
Dates
- 1934 - 1965
Conditions Governing Access
Historical records in the Medical Center Archives are protected by HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996), internal policies requiring protection and confidential handling of PHI (protected health information), FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act), or other institutional polices regarding internal or confidential records, and may require additional permissions prior to access. Some records in this collection are restricted and require additional permissions prior to access. View the container inventory for more information and visit the Medical Center Archives website for the most updated policies and procedures regarding access to historical materials containing restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Materials from this collection cannot be reproduced outside the guidelines of United States Fair Use (17 U.S.C., Section 107) without the advance permission of the Medical Center Archives of NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medicine or the copyright holder. In the event that anything from the collection become a source for publication, a credit line indicating the Medical Center Archives of NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medicine is required.
Historical records in the Medical Center Archives are protected by HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) and internal policies which require protection and confidential handling of all protected health information (PHI). Materials containing PHI, personally identifiable information (PII), and/or student information (protected under FERPA) have been restricted and require additional permissions prior to reproduction and use.
Please visit the Medical Center Archives website for the most updated policies and procedures regarding reproduction and use.
Biographical / Historical
Dr. May G. Wilson, a former Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at Cornell University Medical College (CUMC) and a pediatric consultant for New York Hospital (NYH), was born in Brooklyn in 1891. Dr. Wilson received her undergraduate degree from Hunter College and graduated from Cornell University Medical College in 1911 at the age of twenty, making her at the time one of the youngest students to graduate with a medical degree from Cornell. Following her medical school graduation, Dr. Wilson interned at Syracuse Memorial Hospital.
Returning to New York Hospital following the end of her internship, she soon set up the hospital’s first rheumatic fever clinic in 1916. Recognizing both the value of follow-up care and the potentially hereditary nature of the disease, Dr. Wilson designed the clinic around the concept of long-term follow-up care and emphasized the significance in monitoring children in families with rheumatic fever victims. Her research emphasized the use of early hormone therapy to treat rheumatic fever and heart disease.
Dr. Wilson served concurrently as Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at Cornell University Medical College and as a pediatric consultant for New York Hospital. She earned the title Professor Emeritus of Clinical Pediatrics in 1959 and retired five years later in 1964. Having served the Cornell University community for half a century, Dr. Wilson won the Cornell University Medical College Alumni Association’s Award for Distinguished Service in 1963.
Dr. Wilson authored two textbooks on rheumatic disease and numerous articles and maintained memberships in several professional societies including the American Academy of Sciences, the American Heart Association, the American Rheumatism Association, the American Pediatric Society, the Society for Pediatric Research, and the Harvey Society and served as director of the New York Heart Association.
Dr. Wilson was married to Dr. A. Albert Smernoff. She died on June 14, 1971 at 80 years old in Falmouth, Massachusetts.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
“Dr. May Wilson, Pediatrician, 80 – Rheumatic Fever Authority, Cornell Professor, Dies.”
New York Times, June 15, 1971.
“May G. Wilson.” Cornell University Necrology, 1970-1971.
Extent
0.21 Linear Feet (1 box)
Language of Materials
English
Immediate Source of Acquisition
There is no information regarding the provenance of this collection.
Processing Information
This collection was processed and finding aid was written by Rachel Moskowitz in 2010. Original folders have been preserved though folders have been rearranged and titles renamed to better describe and provide access to their contents. Minor modifications to the finding aid were made during migration to ArchivesSpace in 2024.
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Medical Center Archives of NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medicine Repository