The collection consists of addresses, correspondence, certificates, printed matter and other personal materials collected by Peter Andrew Herbut, MD, documenting his career at Jefferson Medical College as pathologist and professor (ca. 1939-1966), Chairman of the Executive Faculty (1956-1995) and as President (1966-1976). The bulk of the collection is bound in 34 volumes personally prepared by Dr. Herbut. The collection also includes death notices and other necrology material, manuscripts from Dr.Herbut's avocational research on the lives and works of classical composers, as well as signed copies of three of his pathology textbooks.
Peter Andrew Herbut (1912-1976) was born in the Edson Province of Alberta, Canada on July 6, 1912. He received his MD and CM (a graduate medical degree) from the Medical School of McGill University in 1937. Herbut originally planned to pursue a career in surgery, but his interest in pathology brought him to the Medical College of Virginia, where he accepted a residency appointment in the Surgical Pathology Laboratory in 1938. The following year, Herbut met Virgil Moon, Professor of Pathology at Jefferson Medical College, during a meeting of the American Association of Pathologists and Bacteriologists at the Medical College of Virginia. Moon offered Herbut an appointment as Assistant Demonstrator of Pathology at Jefferson Medical College. Herbut began teaching at Jefferson in 1939. Over the course of his tenure, he assumed new positions, including Associate Professor (1945)and Assistant Professor (1947). Upon Virgil Moon's retirement in 1948, Herbut was made Professor of Pathology and Chair of the department.
Herbut was elected as Chairman of the Executive Faculty in 1956. In this role, he helped to guide and grow Jefferson's development programs. After serving in this capacity for nine years, Herbut succeeded William Bodine as President of Jefferson Medical College (1966). Herbut was a key figure in the creation of Thomas Jefferson University in 1969, upon which he became its first president. He held this position until his death in 1976.
Herbut published 104 scholarly articles, in addition to longer texts. Notable works include: Surgical Pathology (1948, later reissued in a second edition); Urological Pathology (1952, also translated into Spanish); Pathology (1955, later reissued in a second edition); and Gynecological and Obstetrical Pathology (1958). Peter A. Herbut died on April 2, 1976, at the age of 63.
I. Bound volumes (Boxes 1-9)
34 bound volumes of personal papers as prepared by Dr. Herbut. The volumes, each of which includes a general list of contents, are organized around specific subject areas.
II. Textbooks, 1952-1959 (Box 10)
Signed copies of Dr. Herbut's textbooks
Urological Pathology (2 v., 1952), Gynecological and Obstetrical Pathology (1953), and Pathology (2nd ed., 1959).
III. Addresses, 1960-1979 (Box 11)
Speaker's notes on index cards from a wide variety of public speaking engagements that Dr. Herbut delivered, predominately in his role as President of Jefferson Medical College and Thomas Jefferson University. Arranged in chronological order.
IV. Reports, 1971 (Box 11)
V. Events and Ephemera, 1936-1974 (Box 12)
Arranged in chronological order.
VI. Necrology, 1976-1979 (Box 12)
VII. Certificates, 1942-1974 (Box 12)
Arranged in chronological order.
VIII. Pathology Slides and Lecture Notes (Box 13)[unprocessed]
Related materials
UA-CORP 031 - Records of the President's Office
UA-CORP 031 contains the official University files of President Herbut at the time of his death. To a large extent, they replicate materials in MS 21, but they also contain materials not reproduced in the bound volumes. Like MS 21, the President's Office records also include documentation of Dr. Herbut's career before becoming President. A finding aid with contents list at the folder-level is available.
Peter A. Herbut Collection, MS-021. Thomas Jefferson University - Archives and Special Collections.
Peter A. Herbut Collection, MS-021. Thomas Jefferson University - Archives and Special Collections. http://aisrmedia1.jefferson.edu:81/repositories/2/resources/26 Accessed May 14, 2024.