Herbert Thoms Collection
Historical Library, Cushing/Whitney Medical Library,
Yale University
Herbert King Thoms, M.D.
(1885-1972) was a Yale obstetrician and man of many interests and talents. Born in 1885 in Waterbury, Connecticut,
Thoms’ early education was acquired at the Vermont Academy and the Waterbury
High School. He received his M.D. from
Yale in 1910. Following internships at
the Backus Hospital in Norwich and Memorial Hospital in New London, he served
as an assistant resident in the Sloane Hospital for Women in
New York City. Then, deciding to specialize in obstetrics,
he spent a year at the Johns Hopkins Hospital.
In 1915, he returned to New
Haven where he began an active practice in obstetrics. He was appointed an associate clinical
professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Yale, and in 1927 he became a member
of the full-time faculty. He served as
chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology from 1947 until his
retirement in 1953.
During his academic career,
he made many important contributions in his field including studies in
pelvimetry, the plan for infant “rooming-in” after delivery in conjunction with
Dr. Edith Jackson and members of the Department of Pediatrics, the “natural
child birth” program, and studies in the infertility clinic which he established. As a teacher, he was influential in bringing
to the attention of his students the importance of a humanistic approach to
medicine. Throughout his career he was a prolific author of books and articles
on the history of medicine. His special
interest was the early history of Connecticut medicine. In addition to his clinical and historical
activities, he found the time to become an accomplished artist and
engraver.
The Historical Library’s
collection was donated by Herbert Thoms.
I. Scrapbooks
1. Scrapbook when a Yale
medical student, 1906-1910
2. Scrapbook of activities,
ca. 1914-ca. 1926
3. Popular magazine articles
on natural childbirth and rooming-in
4. Newspaper clippings on
natural childbirth and rooming-in
5. Newspaper clippings on his
etchings
II. Photograph Albums
1. “Medical Landmarks in
Connecticut, Vol. I” - Thoms’ photographs of historic medical buildings and
sites in Connecticut with explanatory texts.
2.“Medical Landmarks in
Connecticut, Vol. II”
3.“Medical Landmarks in
Connecticut, Vol. III”
4.-5. Jared Eliot Scrapbooks
(2) -- photographs of sites and memorabilia related to Jared Eliot, an early
century graduate of Yale College, minister, and physician.
III. Awards and Memorabilia
Lasker Award of the Planned
Parenthood Association, 1953 - framed.
Folder of diplomas including
Yale Medical diploma, 1910; Sloane Maternity Hospital, house physician, 1911;
First Lieutenant in Medical Reserve Corps, State of Connecticut, 1913; Fellow
of New York Academy of Medicine, 1918; Fellow of American College of Surgeons,
1921; Member, New England Surgical Society, 1923; Certificate of American Board
of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 1931.
IV. Correspondence and
Miscellaneous (2 boxes)
Box 1. Correspondence (6 folders)
1. From John Fairbanks, 1923-1939
2. From Grantly Dick-Read, 1947-57
3. General, 1935-1950
4. General, 1951-1955
5. General, 1956-1960
6. General, 1961-1963
7. Natural Childbirth Study Committee - minutes, 1948
8. Typescripts including travel recollections, n.d.
9. Typescripts of historical articles
10. Typescript of “Expectant
Parenthood”
11. Folder of engraved
holiday cards and other small engravings
12. Almanac for Academics
by T.G.E. with illustrations by Herbert Thoms, n.p., n.d.
13. Reviews of Thoms’ books
Box 2. Reprints and clippings
Articles, reprints, and
newspaper clippings on natural childbirth and rooming-in collected by HT
taa
8/6/96, rev. 1/03