Because the papers include Confidential Health Information (CHI) as defined by Columbia University policies governing data security and privacy, access is allowed only under the terms of Archives and Special Collections’ Access Policy to Records Containing Confidential Health Information.
Correspondence, reprints, writings, speeches, a diary, patient records, and photographs documenting the professional career of Rustin McIntosh. Included are articles assembled by McIntosh for his use, as well as typescripts of his own articles and speeches. The correspondence is almost entirely professional but largely dates from after his retirement as Director of Babies Hospital in 1960. Included are letters from Virginia Apgar, Edwards Park, Wilder Penfield, Helen Taussig, and Ashley Weech.
There are also records of McIntosh's membership (1962-66) on a joint Pediatric Research Council/National Institute for Neurological Diseases and Blindness study on pediatric outcomes including reports, minutes, and publications. In addition, there is a diary kept while in Belgium in 1945 to study care of polio patients; correspondence and papers documenting his co-authorship of a history of the American Pediatric Society (1965); and records relating to his co-ownership of the "Cobble," a natural landmark near McIntosh's retirement home in Tyringham, Mass.
History and Biography
Rustin McIntosh was born on September 29, 1894, in Omaha, Nebraska. He was graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1910, Harvard College in 1914 (A.B., magna cum laude), and Harvard Medical School in 1918 (M.D., magna cum laude). Dr. McIntosh served as a first lieutenant in the Army Medical Corps from 1918 to 1919 and was awarded the Croix de Guerre. After a year as an Assistant in Pathology at Boston City Hospital, he served his internship and residency at Presbyterian Hospital and Babies Hospital between 1920 and 1923. From 1923 to 1927, Dr. McIntosh was in private practice in New York City while serving on the faculty of Columbia's College of Physicians and Surgeons (P&S) as Assistant and Instructor in the Diseases of Children. He was Instructor and Associate in Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University between 1927 and 1930 before returning to P&S in 1930 as Professor of Diseases of Children. He was named Carpentier Professor of Pediatrics in 1931, the same year he became Attending Pediatrician and Director of Pediatric Service at Babies Hospital.
Dr. McIntosh held these two positions until 1960, and his thirty-year tenure at Babies Hospital became known as "the McIntosh Era." His leadership fostered a collegial, cohesive atmosphere at Babies Hospital that engendered clinical and academic excellence. Research flourished, most notably in pediatric pathology and radiology, and in the study of meningitis and cystic fibrosis. (A commemorative volume in honor of Dr. McIntosh's retirement, The McIntosh Era at Babies Hospital, 1931-1960, reprints 29 articles and provides a complete bibliography of the publications of Babies Hospital staff during this period.) Dr. McIntosh's best-known publication was the work commonly known as Holt's Pediatrics, the standard in the field during that time. He served as co-editor and co-author for the 10th edition in 1933 through the 13th edition in 1962.
Outside of Babies Hospital, Dr. McIntosh was an active member of numerous medical societies and editorial boards. He served as president of the Society for Pediatric Research in 1934 and of the American Pediatric Society in 1953-54. From 1949 until 1952, he was president of the medical board of Presbyterian Hospital.
Dr. McIntosh retired in 1960 and became Carpentier Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics. He left New York City and moved to his longtime home in Tyringham, Massachusetts, where his activities included farming, winemaking, and playing the piano. He attended the annual luncheons of the Alumni Association of Babies Hospital through 1985. Dr. McIntosh died on February 14, 1986. He was survived by his wife, Millicent Carey McIntosh, who was headmistress of the Brearley School (1930-47), dean of Barnard College (1947-52), and president of Barnard College (1952-62), and their 5 children.
Organization
The Rustin McIntosh Papers primarily document Dr. McIntosh's activities after his retirement from Babies Hospital, although certain items (notably a diary, his articles, and speeches) date from earlier in his career. The collection has been arranged into seven series: the Article Collection, Correspondence, Patient Records, the Pediatric Research Council / National Institute for Neurological Diseases and Blindness (PRC/NINDB), Personal Papers, Writings, and Photographs.
The Article Collection spans the years 1932-64 and contains materials assembled for Dr. McIntosh's research and professional use. The collection consists mostly of reprints (some inscribed by their authors), but also includes mimeographs; published charts and aids; unpublished articles, reports, and studies; and some materials issued by Presbyterian Hospital. The collection is arranged according to a subject-based numerical filing system. Based on this system's key, these papers contain only a small portion of the total article collection.
The correspondence spans the years 1962-74, and is arranged alphabetically by correspondent (except for letters of recommendation, which are arranged alphabetically by the individual being recommended). Notable correspondents include Virginia Apgar, Jean Cortner, Sidney Chipman, Katrina de Hirsch, Richard Darling, John Gerrard, Hubert Humphrey, Grayson Kirk, Weston Kelsey, Samuel Lambert Jr., Donovan McCune, Harry Medovy, Edwards Park, Wilder Penfield, William Silverman, Helen Taussig, Ashley Weech, Elizabeth Ufford, and Otto Woolf.
The patient records include two series of records used for research articles from Babies Hospital on duodenal obstruction from the 1930s and cystic fibrosis from the 1950s. Other patient records are consultations. All patient records are subject to the restrictions set forth in the Archives and Special Collections Patient Records Access Policy.
The PRC/NINDB materials document Dr. McIntosh's 1962-66 involvement with this large government-funded research program, which focused on data collection of pediatric practices and outcomes. Dr. McIntosh was a member of the board that oversaw grants and made site visits to participating institutions. Publications, reports, minutes of the PRC, meeting summaries, and tables provide an overview of the entire program.
Dr. McIntosh's personal papers span the years 1945 to 1971. Of particular interest is a diary of travels to Belgium in 1945, where Dr. McIntosh observed the Belgian care of polio. Dr. McIntosh's love of nature is documented in materials related to camping and fishing trips, as well as extensive records related to the ownership and maintenance of the Tyringham Cobble, an undeveloped property, during the years 1937-65. Dr. McIntosh and the other co-owners eventually donated "the Cobble" to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Writings have been divided into two categories: articles and speeches, and books. Articles and speeches (including speeches that became articles) are arranged alphabetically by title, and span from the late 1940s to 1963. In addition to typescripts, articles and speeches include some reprints, research notes, publicity materials, and correspondence. Dr. McIntosh also co-wrote and co-edited two books published in the 1960s, History of the American Pediatric Society 1887-1965, and Pediatrics, 13th edition. His papers relating to the History of the American Pediatric Society include extensive correspondence with his co-author, Harold Faber; the publisher, McGraw-Hill; the president of the APS, Charles Cook; and such notable doctors as Hattie Alexander, Conrad Riley, Joseph Stokes, and Lewis Thomas. The materials relating to the 13th edition of Pediatrics include correspondence and reviews.
Photographs from History of the American Pediatric Society 1887-1965 and from patient records have been moved to a separate document box.
Subject Headings and Related Records
Administrative Information
The McIntosh Papers are the gift of the McIntosh Family, and were delivered through the assistance of Dr. Michael Katz and Dr. John Truman, January 2000 (accession no. 2000.01.27).
Processed by Bob Vietrogoski, Archivist.