Documenting a Tripartite Career

A collection of donated papers gives an intimate look at Hopkins’ impact on an accomplished alumnus

It isn’t often that the Alan Mason Chesney Archives of the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions receives a huge collection of personal papers that documents the career and contributions of an alumnus. But that happened when W. Bruce Fye, A&S ’68, Med ’72 (MD), ’78 (MA), shipped 45 boxes to the archives.

Thousands of letters donated to the archives trace Fye’s active involvement in cardiology, medical history, and medical book collecting. The collection is complemented by hundreds of documents and pieces of ephemera that provide insight into the various contexts of his career and contributions. Fye served as president of the American College of Cardiology, the American Association for the History of Medicine, and the American Osler Society.

Many Hopkins alumni acknowledge the vital role the institution played in their lives. But Fye takes it a step further, explaining that his tripartite career would never have happened without his Hopkins education and training, as well as the encouragement and support of mentors. He has maintained close contact with his alma mater over the decades and was elected to the Johns Hopkins Society of Scholars in 2005.

Fye is optimistic that his papers will be useful to historians and others interested in the development of the specialty of cardiology, the evolution of the field of medical history, and trends in medical book collecting over the past half century.

This story was adapted from “Documenting a Tripartite Career Launched at Hopkins” that first appeared in Johns Hopkins School of Medicine News for Alumni and Friends.