May 3, 2021 marks 275 years since the birth of Dr. John Crawford, an influential figure for the HSHSL.  His impressive collection of medical texts was purchased by the School of Medicine’s Faculty of Physik for $500 from his daughter Eliza Godefroy after his death in 1813.  The volumes founded the medical library, which was believed to be the first associated with a school of medicine. Today the HSHSL dates its foundation to 1813 and the purchase of this collection.  Dr. Crawford’s volumes remain an important part of the HSHSL’s collections; the 569-volume John Crawford Collection sits in a place of prominence in the Historical Collections’ reading room and represents medical texts from 1565 in English, Latin, French, German, and Dutch.  Most of the texts in the Crawford Collection have been digitized and are available in the UMB Digital Archive. Continue reading →