TABLE OF CONTENTS
Descriptive Summary
Biographical Note
Collection Summary
Index Terms
Administrative Information
Restrictions
Series Descriptions
Papers, 1962-1969
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Archives and Modern Manuscripts Program, History of Medicine Division
Processed by HMD Staff
Machine-readable finding aid encoded by Dan Jenkins
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| Collection Number: | MS C 202 |
| Creator: | Furman, Bess, 1894-1969 |
| Title: | Bess Furman (Armstrong) Papers
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| Dates: | 1962-1969 |
| Quantity: | 32 MS boxes |
| Abstract: | Manuscript copy, and related materials, of Furman's history of the Public Health Service, 1798-1948, ending with the administration of Dr. Thomas Parran. |
Bess Furman (1894-1969) was born in Danbury, Red Willow County, NE. A pioneering woman journalist, she was White House correspondent for the New York Times, and developed a lasting friendship with Eleanor Roosevelt while covering the First Lady as her principal Associated Press assignment in the 1930s. She also used her writing talent and public position to champion women's rights and influence the role of women in the nation's political life.
Furman's father edited and published the Danbury News. By the time Furman was ten years old, she was helping report local news, set type and arrange papers for delivery. Furman graduated from Kearney State Teacher's College in 1918, and was the first woman editor of the school's newspaper. Her first professional reporting position was with the Omaha Daily News as a street reporter, often using the pseudonym "Bobbie O'Dare." A prize-winnning report of an Omaha visit by presidential candidate Al Smith in 1928 earned her a post at the Associated Press, where she insisted on being assigned to Washington, D.C. After covering the House of Representatives for two years, she became White House beat reporter from 1932-1936.
After freelancing with her sister from 1937 to 1941, Furman was offered a job with the Office of War Information during the early years of World War II. In 1943, she moved to the New York Times, replacing Eleanor Darnton as the "woman-interest" reporter in Washington. She remained with the Times until 1961, when she joined the Dept. of Heath, Eudcation and Welfare as a public affairs assistant. In 1962 she became head of HEW's Press Information Section and took a three year position to write a history of the Public Health Service, A profile of the United States Public Health Service, 1798-1948 (1973).
Furman was married to Robert B. Armstrong, Jr., a Los Angeles Times photographer and reporter whom she met while covering the U.S House of Representatives. He died in 1955. Bess Furman died in 1969 in Woodacres, MD. Her 1949 autobiography is titled Washington By-Line.
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Correspondence, drafts, diaries, and copies of primary and secondary sources researched for A profile of the United States Public Health Service, 1798-1948. Materials are arranged by chapters. Correspondents include Richard H. Creel, Robert H. Felix, Lister Hill, Luther L. Terry, and R. C. Williams.
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Restrictions
Restrictions
Collection is not restricted. Contact the Reference Staff for information regarding access. For online customer service, please visit custserv@nlm.nih.gov.
Copyright
Copyright to the collection was transferred to the public domain. Contact the Reference Staff for details regarding rights. For online customer service, please visit custserv@nlm.nih.gov.
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| These terms are indexed in the National Library of Medicine's on-line catalog LocatorPlus. Researchers wishing to find related materials should search the catalog using these terms. |
| MeSH subjects |
| | Public Health Administration -- history |
| Personal Names |
| | Williams, Ralph C. (Ralph Chester), b. 1888 |
| Corporate Names |
| | National Institutes of Health (U.S.) |
| | United States. Public Health Service |
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Furman, Bess. Bess Furman (Armstrong) papers. 1962-1969. Located in: Modern Manuscripts Collection, History of Medicine Division, National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD.; MS C 202.
Acquired in 1967.
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Papers, 1962-1969
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| Box |
| 1 | | Correspondence |
| 2 | | Draft of A Profile of the Public Health Service of the United States |
| 3 | | NLM copy of A Profile of the Public Health Service..... |
| 4 | | Printer's copy of A Profile of the Public Health Service.... |
| 5 | | Documentation guide, bibliography, illustrations, acknowledgements, revisions |
| 6 | | Diaries |
| 7 | | Diaries |
| 8 | | Diaries |
| 9 | | Diary materials |
| 10 | | Diary materials |
| 11 | | Verification, Chapters 1 - 2 |
| | | Chap. 1: John Adams -- Federal Health Insurance for Seamen Exposed to Epidemics, 1790-1800 |
| | | Chap. 2: Thomas Jefferson -- Hercules in Medicine, 1800-1809 |
| 12 | | Verification, Chapters 3 - 4 |
| | | Chap. 3: Madison's Medicine Chest, 1809-1830 |
| | | Chap. 4: By Land and Sea Marine Hospitals Go West, 1830-1860 |
| 13 | | Verification, Chapters 5 - 6 |
| | | Chap. 5: Civil War at Home -- Scientific Advances Aborad, 1861-1870 |
| | | Chap. 6: A Supervising Surgeon and a Fight to the Death -- Surgeon General John Maynard Woodworth, 1871-1879 |
| 14 | | Verification, Chapters 7 - 8 |
| | | Chap. 7: Service Sinks Board's Refrigeration Ship - Surgeon General John B. Hamilton (Part One), 1879-1891 |
| | | Chap. 8: Service Sinks Board's Refrigeration Ship - Surgeon General John B. Hamilton (Part Two), 1879-1891 |
| 15 | | Verification, Chapters 9 - 10 |
| | | Chap. 9: Immigration Inspection Leads to Real Quarantine - Surgeon General Walter Wyman (Part One) |
| | | Chap. 10: Epidemics Help win Public Health Title - Surgeon General Walter Wyman (Part Two), 1891-1911 |
| 16 | | Verification, Chapters 11 - 12 |
| | | Chap. 11: To Front Ranks in Medical Research - Surgeon General Walter Wyman (Part Three), 1891-1901 |
| | | Chap. 12: The Public Health Service At Last -- It Launches Field Studies - Surgeon General Rupert Blue (Part One), 1912-1920 |
| 17 | | Verification, Chapters 13 - 14 |
| | | Chap. 13: Public Health in World War I -- Veterans Hospitals Burgeon - Surgeon General Rupert Blue (Part Two), 1912-1920 |
| | | Chap. 14: Veterans Get Own Bureau -- Health Goes International - Surgeon General Hugh S. Cumming (Part One), 1920-1936 |
| 18 | | Verification, Chapters 15 - 16 |
| | | Chap. 15: New Times; New Titles; A New Building of Its Own - Surgeon General Hugh S. Cumming (Part Two) |
| | | Chap. 16: A Health Insurance Plan -- Acres For Medical Research - Surgeon General Thomas Parran (Part One), 1936-1948 |
| 19 | | Verification, Chapter 17 |
| | | Chap. 17: Public Health Helps Win World War II - Surgeon General Thomas Parran (Part Two), 1936-1948 |
| | | | (Includes papers of E. Pritchard) |
| 20 | | Verification, Chapters 17 (cont'd.) - 18 |
| | | Chap. 18: All-out Action For Public Health - Surgeon General Thomas Parran (Part Three), 1936-1948 |
| 21 | | Verification, Chapter 18 (cont'd.) |
| 22 | | Verification, Chapters 19 - 20 |
| | | Chap. 19: Research Institutes Flourish As Wagner Legislation Dies - Surgeon General Leonard A. Scheele, (Part ONe), 1948-1956 |
| | | Chap. 20: Licensing of Salk Vaccine: National Library of Medicine - Surgeon General Leonard A. Scheele, (Part Two), 1948-1956 |
| 23 | | Verification, Chapter 20 (cont'd.) |
| 24 | | Verification, Chapters 20 (cont'd.) - 21 |
| | | Chap. 21: Community Health Services; Environmental Health - Surgeon General Leroy E. Burney, 1956-1961 |
| 25 | | Verification, Chapter 21 (cont'd.) |
| 26 | | Verification, Chapter 21 (cont'd.) |
| 27 | | Verification, Chapters 21 (cont'd.) - 22 |
| | | Chap. 22: Computers for Health: Smoking and Cancer - Surgeon General Luther L. Terry, 1961-1965 |
| 28 | | Verification, Chapters 22 (cont'd.) - 23 |
| | | Chap. 23: Reorganization of 1965 - 1966; The End Is The Beginning - Surgeon General William H. Stewart, 1965 - |
| 29 | | Verification, Chapter 23 (cont'd.) |
| 30 | | Miscellaneous chapter verifications and biographies |
| 31 | | Billings materials, History of NLM (Research at NLM)? NLM News, bulletins |
| 32 | | Billings centennial, Billings (NYPL), U.S. Public Health Service records for National Archives, miscellaneous material re: quarantine |
| 32 | | A Telegraphic Code for the Use of the United States Public Health Service...... 1915 |
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| See also Papers of Bess Furman, 1728-1967 (bulk 1900-1966) in the Library of Congress, Manuscripts Division. |
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