Merl B. Smith papers

Collection

Identifier: MS-0918

Staff Only

Collection Overview

Abstract

The Merl B. Smith papers consist of personal lecture notes, teaching papers, military service files, and books belonging to a Toledo, Ohio physician who was a medical educator and served in the military during World War II.

Dates

Creation: 1934-1976

Extent

0.92 Cubic Feet (2 archive boxes)

Creator

Smith, Merl B., 1914-2001 (Person)

Scope and Contents

The Merl B. Smith papers consist primarily of personal papers and teaching notes that he used during his years as a medical educator associated with Flower Hospital from the 1950s through the 1970s.

The collection also includes miscellaneous notes, papers, and publications associated with Smith's service with the U.S. Army Air Force as a flight surgeon.

Those books that relate directly to medical education in Toledo, particularly the yearbook, The Creed, from the Flower Hospital School of Nursing, and others associated directly with Smith were retained in the collection. Other general medical texts have been transferred out of the collection.

Biographical / Historical

Merl B. Smith was born in Toledo, Ohio on October 14, 1914 to William Ross and Matilda (Markley) Smith. A graduate of Libbey High School in 1932, he got his undergraduate degree from the University of Toledo and then entered the medical program at Ohio State University, where he graduated with honors in 1940. After a one-year internship at the Cleveland Clinic, Smith entered the U.S. Army Medical Corps, serving from July 1941 until November 1945.

In 1946, after the war, he was married to Margaret A. (Roberts) Smith. Between 1948 and 1957 Dr. Smith was on the staff of the Toledo Clinic. Starting in 1957 he was also associated with Flower Hospital, serving as Chief of Medicine from 1957 to 1958 and then from 1958 until 1963 as Chief of Staff Elect and Chief of Staff. He retired from practice at the Toledo Clinic in 1984.

Merl B. Smith died at his home in Toledo at the age of 86 on March 3, 2001.

Conditions Governing Access

No known access restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

Researchers using this collection assume full responsibility for conforming to the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright, and are responsible for securing permissions necessary for publication or reproduction.

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The Merl B. Smith Papers were donated to the Center for Archival Collections by Roger Chapman, with the cooperation of Gretchen Smith and Doris Recker, on November 2, 2001.