Scope and Contents
This collection consists largely of Hare's medical publications from 1898 to 1930. It also contains biographical material, his thesis and dissertation, a scrapbook of correspondence, photographs of his brain, and various ephemera.
Biographical / Historical
Hobart Amory Hare (1862-1931) was born on September 20, 1862 in Philadelphia, PA. He was the son of Mary Amory Howe Hare and William Hobart Hare, a bishop in the Episcopal Church. Hare graduated from the Episcopal Academy in 1881. Next, he enrolled at Jefferson Medical College, graduating with his M.D. in 1884. He subsequently opened his own medical practice.
In 1887, Hare began lecturing in physiology at the University of Pennsylvania. By 1890, he had been appointed Professor of Childrens’ Diseases. In 1891, Hare accepted the position of Professor of Therapeutics, Diagnostics, and Materia Medica at Jefferson Medical College, which he held for thirty years. At Jefferson, he served as the honorary president of his namesake H. A. Hare Medical Society, a student group dedicated on academic discussion of medical topics, as well as social activities.
In addition to his teaching, Hare wrote multiple medical texts. Notable works include: The Physiological Effects of Tobacco (1885); New and Altered Forms of Diseases (1886); Mediastinal Diseases (1888); Epilepsy - Its Pathology and Treatment (1889); Practical Therapeutics (1890, in its 20th edition in 1927); Practical Diagnosis (1896, in its 9th edition in 1927); and Practice of Medicine (1907). Works edited include: The University Medical Magazine (1888-1889); The Medical News (1890-91); The Therapeutic Gazette (1891-1927); A System of Therapeutics (1891); and Medical Complications and Sequels of Typhoid and Other Fevers (1909). Hare was also an outspoken opponent of Prohibition, advocating the medicinal benefits of alcohol consumed in moderation.
Hare married Rebecca Clifford Pendleton on May 8, 1894. They had a daughter, Mary Amory Hare Hutchinson, who became a noted poet. He was a member of the Philadelphia Board of City Trusts, the Union League of Philadelphia, and the Philadelphia Country Club. In 1921, he received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Hobart Amory Hare died in Philadelphia on June 15, 1931, of an acute infection. He was 68 years old.