Scope and Contents
The collection consists of papers of Henry L. Bockus from ca. 1953-1981, including correspondence, subject files, photographs, certificates, plaques, medals, books, and citations. The Office Papers, series III are arranged in their original order. They focus on gastroenterological topics and correspondence with physicians and organizations in other countries; Bockus International correspondence was primarily with physicians in Central and South America and the Caribbean. Of particular interest is information on a civil action between Eli Lilly and Company, the FDA, and HEW regarding the drug Acidulin. The certificates, plaques, medals, and citations were awarded to Bockus in recognition of his work and activities in the United States, South America, and Central America.
Biographical / Historical
Henry L. Bockus (1894-1982) was born on April 18, 1894 in Newark, Delaware. He obtained his B.S. degree from Philadelphia’s Central High School in Philadelphia in 1913, and his M.D. from Jefferson Medical College in 1917. Bockus interned at St. Luke.s Hospital in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and served his residency in internal medicine at the Lennox Hill Hospital. During World War I, Bockus joined the medical corps of the U.S. Marines and served with the 7th Regiment in Cuba.
Upon his discharge from the military in 1919, Bockus returned to New York for further medical training. During this period he worked closely with Max Einhorn, who turned his interest to the field of gastroenterology. In 1921, Bockus began his association with the Graduate School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, which would last for almost 40 years. By 1923, he had organized the Department of Gastroenterology. Other milestones at Penn included his appointment as Professor of Gastroenterology (1931); Chair of the Departments of Medicine and Gastroenterology (1949-1960); and Emeritus Professor (1960).
Bockus was involved with various professional organizations throughout his career. He helped organize the Subspecialty Board of Gastroenterology of the American Board of Internal Medicine. In 1961, he assisted in the creation of the Asian Gastroenterological Association in Tokyo and of gastroenterologic societies in India, the Philippines, Thailand, Turkey, and Egypt. Bockus wrote a three-volume text, Gastroenterology, first published in 1946. A second edition was published in 1965 and translated into Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian. Bockus published seven volumes in total, and Gastroenterology served for many years as a standard text for the speciality.
Bockus became one of the first two alumni trustees of the Jefferson Medical College Board of Trustees in 1965 and served until 1968. He received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Jefferson in 1958. Henry L. Bockus died on April 3, 1982 and was buried in West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, a suburb of Philadelphia. His namesake Bockus International Society of Gastroenterology, founded by former students and residents in his honor in 1958, continues to hold annual business meetings, sponsor postgraduate courses with traveling faculty, and host biennial scientific sessions around the world.