Imagine, for a moment, what it must have been like in the birthing chambers of the 17th and 18th centuries. While most births went according to plan, there could be difficult cases--the baby might be turned wrong, the mother's pelvis might be too narrow: the complications could be endless. Where would the midwife turn? There were no lying hospitals at this time, and no emergency squad. At best, a midwife might turn to the surgeon--not to save the infant, generally, but to save the mother (often at the expense of the child). As a result, no one wanted to...
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It is with sadness that I report the passing on June 23rd of Genevieve Miller, former Director of the Dittrick Museum, at the age of 99. Reaching that age is rare enough, and I think gives credence to the notion that Genevieve lived life fully and with great commitment and determination. I never worked with Genevieve during her tenure as head of the Dittrick, but got to know her better in retirement and especially as a companion on a trip to visit London medical museums in 2004. As a way of celebrating her, permit me to review some highlights...
Bucking a long-term trend, some very talented and creative people are returning to Cleveland to ply their métier. In my own family, our daughter Patty found her way back into a rewarding museum career path after being away for five years. I was pretty much resigned to her long-term absence from the Cleveland scene, when much to my pleasure, she secured a position in the education department of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Since November 2010, she has been a part of the team fashioning Gallery One, a truly path-breaking endeavor to help visitors “learn how works of art are...