Quantity: 30 linear feet
Dates: 1805-1995
Note: this collection does not yet have an online finding aid; an unpublished finding aid is available in the repository.

George Darling (1905-1995) earned a Ph.D. in public health at the University of Michigan. He served as president of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation beginning in 1940, became executive secretary of the Committee on Military Medicine of the National Research Council in 1943, then executive secretary of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Research Council in 1945. From 1946 until 1953 he was head of the Division of Medicine at Yale University. He taught in the Yale School of Public Health until he was named as the executive director of the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission in Hiroshima in 1957. He served in this capacity until his retirement in 1972. Darling died in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1995.

The papers consist of correspondence, memoranda, reports, notes, and writings. They highlight Darling’s role as head of the Division of Medicine at Yale University, 1946-1953, and as director of the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission, 1957-1972. They also include files from Darling’s participation in Operation Crossroads as a civilian observer of the atomic testing at Bikini Atoll.

Quantity: 1.25 linear feet
Dates: 1965-1994

Reverend Edward F. Dobihal, Jr. (1927-) specialized in terminal and hospice care for many years, working at Yale-New Haven Hospital, the Yale Divinity School, and the Yale School of Nursing. In 1971, he was instrumental in the founding of Connecticut Hospice, Inc., the first hospice established in the United States. Dobihal was the first chairman of the board of directors of the hospice and later was made an honorary lifetime member of the board.

The papers consist of scattered correspondence, minutes, reports, writings, and audiocassettes primarily documenting Edward Dobihal’s involvement with, and the early administrative history of, Connecticut Hospice, Inc. Materials relating to Citizens Concerned for Compassionate Care (CCCC), of which Dobihal served as chair, are also included.

Quantity: 39 linear feet
Dates: 1946-1975

Caldwell B. Esselstyn (1902-1975), a physician, administrator, author and educator, was an outspoken advocate of government supported prepaid health insurance plans and of preventive medicine.

The papers document the origins and development of prepaid group practice from the mid 1940s through the mid 1970s and of the organization and delivery of health care in rural areas. They also include valuable information on efforts to implement a national health insurance program for the elderly (Medicare) as well as on a variety of other medical care and health policy programs and issues during the period.

Quantity: 100.75 linear feet
Dates: 1919-1984

I. S. Falk (b. 1899) was a leading advocate and policy maker in developing alternatives to traditional solo, fee-for-service medical practice, especially national health insurance and health maintenance organizations.

The papers document the struggle for organized personal health services and the evolution of health policy from 1929 to 1980, providing the best coverage from 1940 to 1974. The Social Security Administration section in series I and, to a lesser extent, the Committee on the Costs of Medical Care and the Committee on Economic Security sections, trace the development, growth, and decline of the second national campaign for government supported health insurance in the United States from 1929 to 1954. Also included is information on the emergence of medical care as a major subdivision within the field of public health. The Social Security files contain extensive material on the major social and health insurance issues of the 1940s, and document the active role played by federal agencies during the New Deal and the combination of research, compromise, and opportunity which produced major social and health legislation. They reflect, too, the development of a conservative reaction against social legislation in the 1940s.

The papers provide broad coverage of private efforts to restructure the organization and delivery of health care through group practice prepayment plans (health maintenance organizations) from the late 1950s forward and of the resurgence of national interest in comprehensive, government-sponsored health insurance in the late 1960s and the 1970s. The papers also contain material on health and social programs in developing countries, particularly Malaysia and Panama.

Quantity: 21.75 ft.
Dates: 1926-1995

The papers consist of correspondence, writings, subject files, and audiocassettes which document Leslie A. Falk’s career as area medical administrator for the United Mine Workers Health and Welfare Fund, teacher at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health and Meharry Medical College, and medical activist. The papers highlight Falk’s interests in community health services, occupational health and safety, the delivery of medical care in other countries, and African-American medical care and medical history.

Quantity: 20.25 linear feet
Dates: 1861-1976

Irving Fisher (1867-1947), a political economist, educator, inventor, and author, campaigned for the establishment of a national department of health to coordinate public health care and chaired the Committee of 100 to promote public health. Fisher was also a prominent advocate of the League of Nations and a powerful force in the Committee for the Nation during the New Deal. The papers consist primarily of correspondence, personal papers, manuscripts, and memorabilia. Most complete are those papers which relate to Fisher's activities as an author and educator in the field of political economics.

Quantity: 5 linear feet
Dates: 1959-1972

The Franklin M. Foote Papers consist of Dr. Foote's files as Commissioner of the Connecticut State Department of Health. Included among the papers are files on state and local public health agencies, commissions, and services, 1959-1960; the Connecticut Clean Air Commission and Air Pollution Control Program, 1970-1971; the Council on Tuberculosis Control, 1972; and press releases, 1962-1963. Also included are the papers of Dr. Stanley Hart Osborne who served as Commissioner in 1935-1936.