- Email: [email protected]
A Journeying Journal: Pittinger's Inaugural Issue of Anesthesiology
Journal of Anesthesia History 2 (2016) 67–68
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Journal of Anesthesia History journal homepage: www.anesthesiahistoryjournal.org
Ethereal Image
A Journeying Journal: Pittinger's Inaugural Issue of Anesthesiology George S. Bause, MD, MPH ⁎ Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 11100 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine, 2124 Cornell Rd, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA Honorary Curator, American Society of Anesthesiologists', Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology, 1061 American Lane, Schaumburg, IL 60173-4973, USA
Charles Bernard “Charlie” Pittinger (1913–1990) received his BS in chemistry in 1935 from Ohio's University of Akron. After moving to Dayton in southwestern Ohio, Pittinger served from 1937 to 1945 as an Army Air Corps chemist in the Materiel Division at Wright Field (now Wright-Patterson Air Force Base).1,2 In July of 1940, in the middle of Pittinger's years as a military chemist, the first issue of the journal Anesthesiology was published by the American Society of Anesthetists. Following his Army Air Corps service in Dayton, Pittinger earned his MD from the nearby University of Cincinnati in 1949. As a medical student, he fell in love with pharmacology, which he saw as a natural extension of his interests in chemistry. Pittinger also fell in love with a nursing educator named Gertrude Ann Cramer.3 The couple married and moved to Iowa City, where he completed his residency at the Anesthesiology Division of Surgery at the State University of Iowa. (Note that the University of Iowa's autonomous “Department of Anesthesiology” would not be formally created until 1963.) The Anesthesiology Division of Surgery was led by “Stuart C. Cullen,” the anesthesiologist listed on the “Editorial Committee” of the inaugural issue of Anesthesiology. Besides Charles' academic position at the university hospital, the Pittingers also worked as educators for Iowa City's two other health care systems: Charles at the Veterans Administration Hospital; Gertrude at Mercy Hospital. Dr. Pittinger advanced through academic ranks in both pharmacology and anesthesiology. From 1961 to 1962, he served the University of Iowa as Professor and Acting Chairman of the Anesthesiology Division of Surgery.1–3 Each time he glanced at his inaugural issue of Anesthesiology, Charles Pittinger had an opportunity to see physiologistanesthesiologist “Benjamin Robbins” listed as a consulting editor in physiology. While Pittinger was still a medical student in 1946, Robbins had been named as the first chair of the autonomous Anes-
thesiology Department at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (VUSM), Nashville, Tennessee. Sadly, Chairman Robbins died in 1960 while administering anesthesia. On July 1, 1962, on the 22nd anniversary of Anesthesiology inaugural publication (which had listed Robbins as a Consulting Editor in physiology), Pittinger followed in Robbins footsteps as VUSM's Chairman of Anesthesiology.1,2 James Tayloe Gwathmey, MD, one of Pittinger's professional heroes, was another anesthesiologist intrigued by pharmacology. An alumnus of VUSM, Gwathmey was a founding member of the New York Society of Anesthetists, the organizational precursor to the American Society of Anesthetists. The American Society of Anesthetists sponsored the inaugural issue of Anesthesiology, a personal copy of which Pittinger inscribed with his surname (Figure 1). Pittinger's masterwork was the annotated bibliography he published in 1989, James Tayloe Gwathmey: American Pioneer Anesthesiologist. Although Professor Pittinger died in 1990, his widow survived another 19 years. Eventually, the Pittinger copy of the inaugural issue of Anesthesiology was acquired by a retired neurosurgeon and bookdealer in Memphis, Tennessee. In 2015 this issue was purchased by an anesthesiologist who plans to donate it to the Wood LibraryMuseum… in honor of that husband-wife team of health care educators, Professor Charles and Mrs Gertrude Pittinger. References 1. Stephen CR. Charles Bernard Pittinger (1913-1990). Anesth Hist Assoc Newsl. 1990;8(4):4. 2. Charles Bernard Pittinger Papers. Eskind Biomedical Library Special Collections, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN. Accessed at: http://www.mc. vanderbilt.edu/diglib/sc_diglib/archColl/62.html. Accessed January 1, 2016. 3. Pittinger. Gertrude Ann - age 98 [obituary]. Knoxville News Sentinel; 2009. Accessed at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/knoxnews/obituary-preview.aspx?n=gertrude-annpittinger&pid=131428684&referrer=1477. Accessed January 1, 2016.
⁎ 5247 Wilson Mills Rd, No. 282, Cleveland, OH 44143-3016, USA. Tel.: +1 440 725 0785; fax: +1 888 734 6342. E-mail address: [email protected]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.janh.2016.01.001 2352-4529/© 2016 Anesthesia History Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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G.S. Bause / Journal of Anesthesia History 2 (2016) 67–68
Figure 1. This inaugural issue of the journal Anesthesiology was inscribed by its previous owner, Charles B. Pittinger, MD, MS.
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Journal of Anesthesia History journal homepage: www.anesthesiahistoryjournal.org
Ethereal Image
A Journeying Journal: Pittinger's Inaugural Issue of Anesthesiology George S. Bause, MD, MPH ⁎ Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 11100 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine, 2124 Cornell Rd, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA Honorary Curator, American Society of Anesthesiologists', Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology, 1061 American Lane, Schaumburg, IL 60173-4973, USA
Charles Bernard “Charlie” Pittinger (1913–1990) received his BS in chemistry in 1935 from Ohio's University of Akron. After moving to Dayton in southwestern Ohio, Pittinger served from 1937 to 1945 as an Army Air Corps chemist in the Materiel Division at Wright Field (now Wright-Patterson Air Force Base).1,2 In July of 1940, in the middle of Pittinger's years as a military chemist, the first issue of the journal Anesthesiology was published by the American Society of Anesthetists. Following his Army Air Corps service in Dayton, Pittinger earned his MD from the nearby University of Cincinnati in 1949. As a medical student, he fell in love with pharmacology, which he saw as a natural extension of his interests in chemistry. Pittinger also fell in love with a nursing educator named Gertrude Ann Cramer.3 The couple married and moved to Iowa City, where he completed his residency at the Anesthesiology Division of Surgery at the State University of Iowa. (Note that the University of Iowa's autonomous “Department of Anesthesiology” would not be formally created until 1963.) The Anesthesiology Division of Surgery was led by “Stuart C. Cullen,” the anesthesiologist listed on the “Editorial Committee” of the inaugural issue of Anesthesiology. Besides Charles' academic position at the university hospital, the Pittingers also worked as educators for Iowa City's two other health care systems: Charles at the Veterans Administration Hospital; Gertrude at Mercy Hospital. Dr. Pittinger advanced through academic ranks in both pharmacology and anesthesiology. From 1961 to 1962, he served the University of Iowa as Professor and Acting Chairman of the Anesthesiology Division of Surgery.1–3 Each time he glanced at his inaugural issue of Anesthesiology, Charles Pittinger had an opportunity to see physiologistanesthesiologist “Benjamin Robbins” listed as a consulting editor in physiology. While Pittinger was still a medical student in 1946, Robbins had been named as the first chair of the autonomous Anes-
thesiology Department at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (VUSM), Nashville, Tennessee. Sadly, Chairman Robbins died in 1960 while administering anesthesia. On July 1, 1962, on the 22nd anniversary of Anesthesiology inaugural publication (which had listed Robbins as a Consulting Editor in physiology), Pittinger followed in Robbins footsteps as VUSM's Chairman of Anesthesiology.1,2 James Tayloe Gwathmey, MD, one of Pittinger's professional heroes, was another anesthesiologist intrigued by pharmacology. An alumnus of VUSM, Gwathmey was a founding member of the New York Society of Anesthetists, the organizational precursor to the American Society of Anesthetists. The American Society of Anesthetists sponsored the inaugural issue of Anesthesiology, a personal copy of which Pittinger inscribed with his surname (Figure 1). Pittinger's masterwork was the annotated bibliography he published in 1989, James Tayloe Gwathmey: American Pioneer Anesthesiologist. Although Professor Pittinger died in 1990, his widow survived another 19 years. Eventually, the Pittinger copy of the inaugural issue of Anesthesiology was acquired by a retired neurosurgeon and bookdealer in Memphis, Tennessee. In 2015 this issue was purchased by an anesthesiologist who plans to donate it to the Wood LibraryMuseum… in honor of that husband-wife team of health care educators, Professor Charles and Mrs Gertrude Pittinger. References 1. Stephen CR. Charles Bernard Pittinger (1913-1990). Anesth Hist Assoc Newsl. 1990;8(4):4. 2. Charles Bernard Pittinger Papers. Eskind Biomedical Library Special Collections, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN. Accessed at: http://www.mc. vanderbilt.edu/diglib/sc_diglib/archColl/62.html. Accessed January 1, 2016. 3. Pittinger. Gertrude Ann - age 98 [obituary]. Knoxville News Sentinel; 2009. Accessed at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/knoxnews/obituary-preview.aspx?n=gertrude-annpittinger&pid=131428684&referrer=1477. Accessed January 1, 2016.
⁎ 5247 Wilson Mills Rd, No. 282, Cleveland, OH 44143-3016, USA. Tel.: +1 440 725 0785; fax: +1 888 734 6342. E-mail address: [email protected]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.janh.2016.01.001 2352-4529/© 2016 Anesthesia History Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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G.S. Bause / Journal of Anesthesia History 2 (2016) 67–68
Figure 1. This inaugural issue of the journal Anesthesiology was inscribed by its previous owner, Charles B. Pittinger, MD, MS.