Founded in 1913, the American College of Surgeons collects records of the College and papers of a few of its most notable founders and officers. The Board of Regents meeting minutes form the backbone of the collection, followed by the minutes of the various committees. It also houses a small library collection on the History of Surgery and a small collection of medical instrument artifacts. SERVICES: Photocopy and photo reproduction according to fee schedule; and reference.

The processed and cataloged records, which comprise roughly 200 linear feet, include some of the earliest material on hospital standardization, the development of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals [Now Healthcare Organizations] (JCAHO), the development of medical motion pictures, and promotion of education and treatment of cancer and traumatic injury. Having its foundation in Chicago since its inception has meant that it has been an integral part of the history of medicine in Chicago with its early leaders well known surgeon educators, researchers, clinicians and administrators at the primary medical institutions in the city and country.

The papers of Franklin H. Martin, MD, founder of the College, are a particularly rich source. Included are over thirty 3-ring binders of "Memoirs," assembled by Martin and his wife, 1899-1935, comprised of scrapbook and photo album items, diaries, journals and correspondence relating to their travels attending surgical and medical meetings around the nation and the world. Also included are minutes and other records of boards of late eighteenth and early nineteenth-century hospitals in Chicago.

Another very rich resource for the history of the College is the 26 3-ring binders of its history dictated and compiled by Eleanor Grimm, secretary to Franklin Martin from 1913 until his death. She was commissioned by the board of Regents to compile this history after she retired in 1951. It is accompanied by a 59-page index.

Holdings include surgical case list books from the 1890s and 1940s, photographs, slides, and audiotapes of oral histories and clinical congresses sessions, a small number of surgical teaching films and videos, medical instruments and artifacts, and publications of the ACS. The collection is described in the NUCMC/RLG databases.