Unrestricted.
Correspondence and research materials relating to Kaunitz's work on the link between endemic ergotism and thromboangiitis obliterans ("Buerger's Disease"). Most of it relates to a paper he read at the 1954 meeting of the American Medical Association, in which he warned that the excessive consumption of rye bread might be a contributing factor in the disease.
There is also a small amount of general professional correspondence, an incomplete set of his scientific articles, and a few reprints from other authors.
History and Biography
Julius Kaunitz was born in Romania and came to the U.S. as a child. He received his medical degree from Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons (P&S) in 1905. Though he spent his career as a general practitioner in Manhattan, Kaunitz continued to do clinical research and published extensively in medical journals. He was particularly known for his suggestion, made in a 1930 article in the American Journal of Pathology, that thromboangiitis obliterans (“Buerger’s Disease”) was caused by endemic ergotism.
Besides his medical work, Kaunitz was active in P&S alumni activities; was a member of the Euthanasia Society; and served as team physician for the U.S. chess team. He died at Burlington, VT, on Dec. 23, 1979.
Organization
| Box | Folder | Contents |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Correspondence, General, 1942, 1944, 1950-1951, 1976 |
| 2 | Correspondence re Buerger’s Disease, 1936, 1949-1955, 1972-1977 | |
| 3 | Research notes, background materials, and newspaper clippings re Buerger’s Disease, 1940s-1950s | |
| 4 | Articles by Kaunitz, 1918, 1930-1958 | |
| 5 | Articles by others, 1930s-1950s |
Subject Headings and Related Records
Administrative Information
Gift of Julie Thayer (granddaughter), 2011 (acc.#2011.021).