MS081
Thaddeus L. Montgomery Collection
1937 - 1992
0.5 Linear Feet (1 Box )

Provenance: Gift of J. Thomas Montgomery, May 1996. (# 96-9) [series I-III only]

Biographical Note
Thaddeus Lemert Montgomery (d. 1994), was a native of Illinois and a nephew of Dr. E.E. Montgomery of the Jefferson Medical College Department of Gynecology. Born in Macon (Illinois), Montgomery attended school in Decatur and received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois. He then matriculated at Jefferson in 1916 and graduated in 1920. Dr. Montgomery was Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Temple University School of Medicine (1940-1946) and Jefferson Medical College, 1955-1961. Except for those six years at Temple, Dr. Montgomery spent his entire medical career at Jefferson. In 1961 Dr. Montgomery achieved emeritus status and was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws by Jefferson. He received the Alumni Achievement Award from the JMC Alumni Association in 1970. He died in 1994.

Scope and Contents
The bulk of the collection consists of a 299-page typescript of Dr. Montgomery’s memoir, "Living Through the Twentieth: A Story of One Man’s Journey Through a Century of American Life." The memoir contains descriptions of growing up in Decatur, Illinois and southeastern Missouri, pre-medical education at the University of Illinois, twentieth century progress, medical education at Jefferson Medical College and other observations on everyday life. Complementing this text is an audiotape recording entitled "Decatur Days," which contains excerpts from the manuscript pertaining to his boyhood days, read by Dr. Montgomery in April 1992.

The collection also includes Dr. Montgomery’s Presidential Address at the 1955 meeting of the American Association of Obstetrics and Gynecology, a typescript of Dr. Paul Bowers’ introduction of Dr. Montgomery at the ceremony at which he was awarded the Jefferson Medical College Alumni Association’s Alumni Achievement Award in 1970, and some of Dr. Montgomery’s papers on obstetrics. The papers include two mimeographed course outlines in "Obstetric Tactics" by Dr. Montgomery in the Dept. of Obstetrics at Jefferson Medical College, 1938 and n.d., and two papers: "The Public, the Profession, and Obstetrical Practice" (1937) and "The Placenta" (1946).

Organization and Arrangement

1. Address and Award
   AAOG Presidential Address, 1955 and Paul Bowers’ introduction of Montgomery at JMC Alumni Association’s award ceremony, 1970
   
   
2. "Living Through the Twentieth": typescript, [1992?]
   
   
3. "Decatur Days": audiotape cassette (c. 40 min.), April 1992
   
   
4. Papers on obstetrics, 1937-1946
   
   

Restrictions on Use and Access
Rights to publish "Living Through the Twentieth" have been retained by the donor, except for publication of the all or part of the manuscript in the JMC Alumni Bulletin or a similar in-house publication of Thomas Jefferson University.

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