Collection is open to researchers by appointment.
Property rights reside with the Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, University of Kentucky. Literary rights are retained by the heirs of the creator. For permissions to reproduce or to publish, please contact the Chair of the Department of Surgery.
FWR-SB : [identificaton of item], Fred W. Rankin, M.D. Scrapbooks, 1930-1954. Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, and Special Collections, University of Kentucky. Lexington, Kentucky.
Fred Rankin was born in in Mooresville, North Carolina on December 20, 1886. His early education was heavily influenced by his attendance at the Statesville Female College. The education he reeived was so outstanding he was admitted to Davidson College at the age of 15.
After receiving his bachelor of arts degree from Davidson College in Charlotte, North Caroline in 1905, Rankin completed his doctor of medicine degree at the Unversity of Maryland in 1909. He subsequently earned a master of arts in English from St. John's College in 1913. He was selected for a surgical residency at the University Hospital in Baltimore (1909 to 1912) and served as demonstrator of anatomy and associate in surgery at the University of Maryland Medical School from 1913 to 1916.
Dr. Rankin joined the Mayo Clinic as an assistant surgeon at Saint Mary's Hospital in 1916; however, his appointment was interrupted by World War I. He served 17 months as a major in the medical corps with the American Expeditionary Force combat divisions. Later, he was commanding officer of Base Hospital 26 in France, which was manned by Mayo Clinic and University of Minnesota faculty. After the war he rejoined the Mayo faculty.
In 1923, Rankin married Edith Wharton Mayo, daughter of Dr. Charles H. Mayo. Soon after, the couple moved to Louisville, Kentucky, where for one year Dr. Rankin was professor of surgery at the University of Louisville Medical School and chief of staff at City Hospital. He then started a private practice in Lexington, Kentucky and was on staff at the Lexington Clinic from 1924 to 1926. Two and a half years later he returned to Rochester, Minnesota and the Mayo Clinic to head a section in the Division of Surgery and was appointed associate professor in the Graduate Medical School, University of Minnesota, and the Mayo Foundation. He stayed there until 1933, then returned to Lexington where he was chief surgeon at St. Joseph's and Good Samaritan Hospitals. He also was appointed professor of clinical surgery at the University of Louisville.
During World War II, Fred Rankin rose to the rank of brigadier general, serving as chief surgical consultant to the Surgeon General. As a civilian, Rankin was president of the Southern Surgical Association during the 1930s and a founding member of the American Board of Surgery. In 1953 he became only the third person to be elected president of three outstanding medical societies: the American Medical Association (1942 to 1943), the American Surgical Association (1948), and the American College of Surgeons (1953).
Dr. Rankin died in Lexington, Kentucky on May 22, 1954.
This collection comprises six scrapbooks of letters, telegrams, newsclippings, and photographs documenting major milestones in the career of Lexington surgeon Fred W. Rankin, M.D. The collection is arranged by scrapbook. Materials are arranged as found in the scrapbooks, as possible. Loose items are provided as a separate subgroup, following an item-level inventory of the scrapbook contents.
As possible, items in each scrapbook have been documented in the order in which they occur. In instances where more than one item appears on a scrapbook page, numeric-alpha characters (e.g., 1a, 1b, 1c, etc.) have been assigned to maintain the original organization of the materials.
This scrapbook includes miscellaneous items grouped together by the scrapbook's creator because they do not share a common topic or event.
This scrapbook is the first of two which include correspondence received by Dr. Rankin in relation to his election as President-elect of the American Medical Association (AMA).
This scrapbook is the second of two which include correspondence received by Dr. Rankin regarding his election as President-elect of the American Medical Association (AMA).
This scrapbook includes correspondence received by Dr. Rankin regarding his promotion to Brigadier General in the Office of the Surgeon General
This scrapbook includes correspondence received by Dr. Rankin regarding his election as President of the American Surgical Association (ASA).
This scrapbook includes correspondence received by Dr. Rankin regarding his election as President of the American College of Surgeons (ACS).
This subgroup includes items found with the scrapbooks which were not, however, affixed to pages of an individual scrapbook.
Works created, written, or contributed to by Fred W. Rankin.
Names of individuals who corresponded with Fred W. Rankin with links to letters, cards, and/or telegrams in the collection from these individuals. When available, biographical information about the correspondents is also provided.