McGill Library
McLennan Library Building3459 rue McTavish
Montreal, Quebec
H3A 0C9
Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
Wilder Penfield Diary, May 1972 to May 1974
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- Textual record
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File
Repository
Reference code
CA OSLER P142-Diaries-Personal-18
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Physical description
1.9 cm of textual records
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Name of creator
(1891-1976)
Biographical history
Born in Spokane, Washington, Wilder Penfield received his B.Litt. from Princeton University in 1913 and was a Rhodes Scholar in Oxford (B.A.1916). He received his M.D. from Johns Hopkins in 1918. Studying under Sir Charles Sherrington at Oxford, Penfield became interested in the brain. From 1921 to 1928 he engaged in research and neurosurgery at the Presbyterian Hospital and served on the Medical Faculty of Columbia University. Appointed to the Medical Faculty of McGill University in 1928, he was Chairman of the Department of Neurological Surgery from 1934 to 1960. An endowment from the Rockefeller Foundation enabled him to establish the Montreal Neurological Institute (M.N.I.), which opened in 1934. At the M.N.I. Penfield made many innovations in neurosurgery including a surgical treatment for epilepsy. He devoted much of his research to the study of the physiology of the brain, speech memory and sensation. Besides his numerous scientific publications, Penfield wrote two novels and participated in a large number of professional organizations. Dr. Penfield was a member of the Board of Curators of the Osler Library.
Custodial history
Scope and content
The file contains the diary of Wilder Penfield for May 1972 to May 1974. The front cover is inscribed with “May 72 - Nov 74”. The diary documents Penfield’s thoughts and reactions to colleagues deaths, such as that of Dr. Wilburt Davidson and Francis Hall; his health, his age and decreased mobility; Helen’s memory issues; social activities such as church services, weddings, and visits; the writing of No Man Alone; the Vanier Institute of the Family; and addresses and the accompanying trips, to London Ontario’s Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery in September 1972 and the trip to the Glasgow Institute of Neurological Services. In addition, Penfield discusses science and religion during an Easter entry, looking at the resurrection of Christ in terms of brain processes. Penfield has gone through and corrected his grammar and spelling or has expanded upon his initial thoughts, usually in pencil or pen.