John Ballard Blake, Ph.D.

1922-2006

Historian

John Blake made significant contributions to the field of medical history. He was educated at Yale, BA, 1943, with Honors in History, Harvard, MA, 1947, and Ph.D., 1954, in American history. He was among the first generation of historians of medicine to come out of history departments, rather than clinical medicine, and he helped integrate the subject into the broader field of social history. His interests were primarily the history of public health in America and women’s history. His books and articles dealt with public health in 18th and early 19th century Boston, medicine in colonial America, and women and medicine in 19th century America.

He was active in the American Association for the History of Medicine, the chief professional organization for historians of medicine. He served as Secretary-Treasurer, Vice-President, and President. For his many contributions to the Association and to the field of medical history, he received the organization’s William Welch Medal, “for scholarly contributions,” and its Lifetime Achievement Award for “longtime members of the Association ... who have distinguished records of support of the history of medicine over many years.”