GALVESTON, Texas – Many stories of The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston’s School of Medicine alumni who graduated between 1893 and 1953, are on display at the Moody Medical Library for the next two months. The stories are told through photographs, letters, diaries and other materials that make up part of the Truman G. Blocker, Jr. History of Medicine Collections.
“This exhibit shows the long term impact that many of these people have had and the contributions they’ve made to society,” said Robert Marlin, archivist at UTMB. “We hope that this is the first in a series of exhibits recognizing UTMB alumni.”
Artifacts and documents from 15 different School of Medicine alumni are on display on the third floor of the library. The exhibit begins with a member of the second graduating class and continues on with the stories of men and women who broke through barriers, were witnesses to history and pushed the practice of medicine forward.
Marlin said particularly interesting to many current students are stories like those of Dr. Edith Bonnet.
Chance had a part in bringing Bonnet to UTMB: “Lefty,” the man she was to marry, never showed up to an arranged meeting so instead of marriage Bonnet chose medical school. But determination and hard work played a much larger role in her story.
Bonnet’s diary chronicles both her successes as well as the struggles she faced as a student. On her first day of class she wrote, “I’m a little scared of what may be coming but I think this is the right thing for me to be doing so know I’ll be alright.” Only six weeks later, she lamented that she “Failed in a Materia Medica quiz and am doing very poorly in Anatomy and Chemistry. It’s baffling to work hard and get nowhere.”
Bonnet graduated from UTMB in 1926 and applied to be an intern at Harvard University and at John Sealy Hospital. On display is a letter from Harvard University telling Bonnet they were not accepting women “due to the fact that we have not the proper housing facilities.”
When UTMB also rejected her and another woman graduate of UTMB, Francis Vanzant, the two appealed the decision and took their case all the way to Governor Miriam “Ma” Ferguson, the first female governor of Texas. The state legislature would rule that a state school could not discriminate against women and Bonnet and Vanzant became the first women interns at John Sealy Hospital.
“I think the reason so many people have connected with Dr. Bonnet’s collection is because it is a story of self-doubt, struggle, perseverance and ultimately, success,” Marlin said.
The Blocker Collections was recently awarded a grant from the Portal to Texas History to digitize the Edith Marguerite Bonnet, M.D., papers, which will be available online next year.