title: Connecting health and natural history: a failed initiative at the American Museum of Natural History, 1909-1922.
abstract: In 1909, curator Charles-Edward Winslow established a department of public health in New York City's American Museum of Natural History (AMNH). Winslow introduced public health as a biological science that connected human health-the modern sciences of physiology, hygiene, and urban sanitation-to the natural history of plants and animals. This was the only time an American museum created a curatorial department devoted to public health. The AMNH's Department of Public Health comprised a unique collection of live bacterial cultures-a "Living Museum"-and an innovative plan for 15 exhibits on various aspects of health. I show how Winslow, facing opposition from AMNH colleagues, gathered scientific experts and financial support, and explain the factors that made these developments seem desirable and possible. I finish with a discussion of how the Department of Public Health met an abrupt and "inglorious end" in 1922 despite the success of its collections and exhibitions.
authors.affiliation: Julie K. Brown is an independent scholar affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History, Washington, DC, and the Center for Medical Humanities and Ethics, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio.
authors.forename: Julie K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Brown
mesh_terms: D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D009144:Museums / Q000266:history*; D019021:Natural History / Q000266:history; D009519:New York City; D015980:Public Health Practice / Q000266:history*; D012106:Research / Q000266:history; D012586:Science / Q000266:history*; D014481:United States