John H. Gibbon, Jr. 1903 - 1973 (Art/Photo Collection, AG-007)

MS001
John H. Gibbon, Jr. Collection
1946 - 1987
1 Linear Foot (3 Boxes )

Biographical Note
John Heysham Gibbon (1903-1973)
A 1927 graduate of Jefferson Medical College, Dr. Gibbon received his AB from Princeton University in 1923. As a member of the faculty at Jefferson Medical College, he held the positions of Professor of Surgery and Director of the Department of Surgery (1946-1956) and was the Samuel D. Gross Professor and Chairman of the Department of Surgery (1946-1967). Dr. Gibbon is best known for his development of the heart-lung machine, for the first open-heart operation (1953), and for initiating a new era in cardiovascular surgery.

Mary H. Gibbon Thompson (1906-1986)
Mary Gibbon attended Bryn Mawr College for two years when her interest in medicine brought her to the Harvard Medical School where she enrolled in summer laboratory courses. While working in the capacity of laboratory technician at the Massachusetts General Hospital, she became an assistant to Dr. John H. Gibbon. The two were married in 1931. For 20 years she participated actively in the development of the heart lung machine. After this work was completed, she returned to school and obtained her MS degree at the University of Pennsylvania in social work (1954). She entered private practice as a marriage counselor in 1955. Five years after Dr. Gibbon's death she married Lovell Thompson.

Scope and Contents
The collection consists of materials by or about John H. Gibbon, Jr., MD and his family. Mainly pertaining to the heart-lung machine, types of materials include addresses, publications, correspondence, and blue print drawings of the machine. Some of the material is also associated with Dr. Gibbon's wife, Mary Hopkinson Gibbon.

Organization and Arrangement

1. Addresses (1946-1968)
   Arranged in chronological order
   
   
2. Appointment Jefferson Medical College (1946-1956)
   Arranged in chronological order
   
   
3. Awards (1959-1987)
   Arranged in chronological order
   
   
4. Correspondence (1946-1987)
   Arranged in chronological order
   
   
5. Heart-Lung Machine
   
   
6. Publications (1947-1977)
   Arranged in chronological order
   
   
7. News Clippings (1946-1968)
   Arranged in chronological order
   
   
8. Necrology (1973-1986)
   Arranged in chronological order
   
   
9. Blueprint Drawings (1950-1954)
   
   

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