University of Maryland, Baltimore history

The UC Department of Internal Medicine has a rich history that begins with its formation in 1819, when the UC College of Medicine was also established.

It was one of the first buildings built for U-M in Ann Arbor, and had served as a university-owned house for professors since 1840.

The first classes were held in 1841.

It is the first university-owned medical facility in the United States; in 1873 the University of Pennsylvania opened the first purpose-built hospital at a university.

Also, the Miami Medical School is reopened and operated separately at 12th and Plum streets.1874: Doctor Robert Bartholow, who correctly theorized about how cholera was spread, was appointed Chair of Medicine.

The first degree awarded by this new University, in 1875, went to Henry William Morgan, and was a medical degree.

An operating room is built within the hospital, followed in 1881 by a ward for eye and ear patients.

Founded in 1888 as the College of Medicine and Surgery, the University of Minnesota Medical School has evolved over time to become a leader in medical education and research.

In 1891, responding to a national concern for improving doctors’ training, Washington University acquired the independent St Louis Medical College and established a medical department.

In 1895, the School of Medicine was reorganized under the Vanderbilt University Board of Trust.

The oldest continually operating medical school in the Los Angeles area, the School of Medicine was founded in 1896 by A.C. Moore, one of the first graduates of osteopathic medicine, and B.W. Scheurer, a medical doctor with German and American training.

Missouri Medical College, also independent, joined the department in 1899, uniting the two oldest medical schools west of the Mississippi River.

He suggested that the City purchase the Medical College of Ohio and give it to the University of Cincinnati.1901: Doctor Frederick Forchheimer became chair of medicine.

Under then-University President William Rainey Harper, the University of Chicago temporarily became affiliated with the Rush Medical College with "the distinct purpose" of establishing a medical school when funds became available, according to Harper's Decennial address in 1902.

On the right is the Rosenfeld Building, built for E. Rosenfeld and Company in 1905 by a leading local architectural firm of the early 20th century, Parker and Thomas.

The department was new, but anesthesiology as a specialty had been one of the best known areas of VUMC; the first ether-oxygen apparatus, an early anesthesia machine, had been developed at VUMC in 1907 by Doctor James Tayloe Gwathmey.

He was the first professor to be recognized as an "internist". 1908: In anticipation of the Flexner Report, the Miami Medical College joined the Medical College of Ohio in the University of Cincinnati to become the oldest college of the University of Cincinnati and begins offering medical degrees.

The school, which was founded in 1909, was one of the nation’s first nursing programs to incorporate its curriculum into a liberal arts degree.

In 1910, George Dock established a tradition of distinguished clinical research in the Department of Medicine.

In 1916, the University of Chicago Board of Trustees set aside $5.3 million for construction, equipment and an endowment for an expansion into health care.

Women first gained admission to the student body in 1918; today, women make up half of each incoming class in medical education.

In 1919, Evarts Graham was appointed the first full-time head of surgery.

1923: Cincinnati General Hospital opens as a pavilion system type hospital, similar to other institutions in Europe.

Marjorie Franklin, who had enrolled in 1924 as the first African-American student at the U-M Hospital School for Nurses, is permitted to move in, after fighting for the right to receive university-provided housing that she was initially denied because of her race.

The building, located east of the 1925 University Hospital, is still in use today as offices.

Dedicated on Halloween in 1927, the University of Chicago Hospitals quickly solidified under the direction of Frank Billings, MD. Expansion quickly followed:

1928: Holmes Hospital opens due to significant “ town gown” challenges pre-empting the need for the Cincinnati General Hospital pavilions being designated a hospital for private patients.

Carl and Gerty Cori arrived at the School of Medicine in 1931 to join the Department of Pharmacology.

One of VUMC’s first major research grants was received in 1932 from the Rockefeller Foundation.

In 1933, Doctor Alfred Blalock and his research assistant Vivien Thomas conducted pioneering research leading to the first cardiothoracic surgery for infants born with “blue baby syndrome.” Blalock’s work was essential to the development of open heart surgery.

The department of Radiology was established in 1936.

The first major addition to the Medical Center building was made in 1938, as the D corridor was added at the rear of the structure to house, among other things, more patient rooms and the departments of Pediatrics and Obstetrics and Gynecology.

With the closure of the Homeopathic Hospital and Medical School, its former building is converted to the “South Department” hospital, and used until 1940.

The first major development after the war was the 1945 establishment of the department of Anesthesiology.

His funds were put to good use — by 1946, the Zoller Clinic successfully showed in clinical studies that fluoride in drinking water could help prevent tooth decay.

In 1947, they won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for research on the catalytic conversion of glycogen.

In 1955, Governor Theodore McKeldin issued "The Needs of Higher Education in Maryland," which recommended the need for university expansion.

The first endowed chair in the School of Medicine was established in 1960, the George W. Hale Professorship in Ophthalmology.

In 1961, the Learned Lab was added to Medical Center North and the next year the West Wing, later more descriptively dubbed the Round Wing, opened.

Grace Bell, professor of biochemistry, is the first individual to receive a MD degree from the school on March 7, 1962, and becomes the first dean of the California College of Medicine.

In 1963, Doctor Randolph Batson was named Dean and Director of Medical Affairs, a position which evolved into the current position of Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs.

In 1965, Albin Owings Kuhn, an accomplished administrator and professor at College Park was named Vice President of Baltimore Campuses, including both UMBC and the founding campus, University of Maryland, Baltimore.

The first classes began on September 19, 1966 with 750 students, 3 buildings, and the older wing of the Biological Sciences building, 45 faculty members, 35 support staff and 500 parking spaces.

Since its founding in 1967, the Medical School’s Program in the History of Medicine has been dedicated to research and teaching in the intellectual, political, cultural, and social history of disease, health care, and medical science.

In 1970, the founding of Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital brought pediatric care to the forefront of the Medical Center’s patient care mission.

In 1971, Albin Owings Kuhn resigned his position as UMBC's first chancellor, succeeded by Calvin B. T. Lee.

Five years later in 1976, John Dorsey, Administrative Vice President at the University of Maryland, College Park is appointed as UMBC’s third Chancellor.

The building, which opened in 1977, contained School of Medicine classrooms and laboratories.

1982: Cincinnati General Hospital is renamed University of Cincinnati Hospital.

While part of the college of Arts and Sciences until officially joining the Medical Center in 1984, the School of Nursing throughout its history was closely affiliated with the patient care activities of the Medical Center.

Doctor Stanley Cohen received a Nobel Prize in 1986, as he shared the award with Doctor Rita Levi-Montalcini of Italy for their discovery of epidermal growth factor.

In 1988, a proposed merger of UMBC with the University of Baltimore was considered but was voted down by the University System of Maryland Board of Regents.

In 1991, a merger plan between UMBC and the University of Maryland, Baltimore was approved in the Maryland House of Delegates, but was rejected by the Senate.

Faculty at UMBC have secured 27 National Science Foundation CAREER Awards since 1995.

Five buildings near Briarwood Mall are purchased by U-M for outpatient facilities; more are added in 1996.

In 1997, President Freeman Hrabowski created the Conservation and Environmental Research Areas of UMBC also known as CERA on the south end of the campus.

Patient visits have continued to grow with hospital admissions above 31,000 in 1999, and outpatient visits approaching 600,000.

Five Women Determined to be Doctors,(link is external) Medicine at Michigan magazine, 2000

2001: UC Physicians, Inc., opens the University Pointe medical office building in West Chester.

The northern campus’s growth continued in 2003 with the completion of retail development, imaging center, dialysis center and the linear accelerator.

The state-of-the-art, seven-story University of Chicago Comer Children's Hospital opened in early 2004.

In 2005, UC Health’s West Chester campus began implementation of an electronic medical records system.

In 2006, the University of Chicago Hospitals changed its name to the University of Chicago Medical Center to better reflect the integration of science and clinical activities.

In 2007, President Freeman Hrabowski signed on to the American College and University President's Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) and formed the Climate Change Task Force.

At the beginning of the 2008 fall semester, a Chesapeake Bay retriever puppy was chosen as a new mascot.

Opened in March 2009, Douglas Hospital features modern facilities for conducting the latest medical research and training future and practicing physicians.

2010: UC Health is established as the clinical partner of the University of Cincinnati Medical Center and the College of Medicine.

Michigan’s First “University Hospital”,(link is external)Medicine at Michigan magazine, 2011

UMBC also has one of only two Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigators at a public university in Maryland, as well as a DARPA Young Faculty Award winner and NASA's 2012 Distinguished Public Service Medal recipient.

The Center for Care and Discovery, a 10-story, 1.2-million-square-foot hospital, welcomed its first patient in February 2013.

In May 2014, UMBC dedicated 11 acres on the northeastern side of the campus for preservation through the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

In 2015, Kesha will be performing at the Retriever Activities Center.

When Ingalls joined our academic health system in the fall 2016, UChicago Medicine's network of outpatient facilities grew throughout the region.

The hospital, since renamed NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, is the primary teaching hospital for Columbia’s medical school, which in 2017 was renamed the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.

UChicago Medicine physicians made history December 2018 after performing two triple-organ transplants within 27 hours.