© The contents of this finding aid are the copyright of the University of Chicago Library
© 2011 University of Chicago Library
The collection is open for research.
When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Howard Taylor Ricketts. Papers, [Box #, Folder #], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library
Howard T. Ricketts was born in Findlay, Ohio and educated at the University of Nebraska (B.S., 1894) and Northwestern University Medical School (M.D., 1897). After serving his internship at Cook County Hospital, he was appointed research fellow in pathology at Rush Medical College (1898-1900). In 1900, Ricketts married a former classmate, Myra Tubbs; their nine year courtship is amply documented in Ricketts personal correspondence.
Following his marriage, Ricketts spent a year in Europe studying immunology at hospitals and laboratories in Vienna, Paris, and Berlin. (See notebooks, 6:2-3) In 1902, he became an associate in the Department of Pathology and Bacteriology at the University of Chicago and was promoted to assistant professor in 1904. Just prior to his death in 1910, Ricketts accepted an appointment as Professor of Pathology at the University of Pennsylvania.
Ricketts’ research in pathology began at Rush Medical College, where he began a series of experiments on blastomycosis-a skin disease-which resulted in an important monograph: Oidiomycosis (Blastomycosis) of the Skin and its Fungi (Box 7). His most noted medical research, however, was his discovery of the cause of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Starting in 1906, he ran a series of experiments-in Chicago and Montana-which proved that the disease was transmitted by wood ticks. Eventually, this led to the discovery of a suspicious bacillus in the blood of both victims and infected ticks. When the bacillus was finally isolated in 1916, it was named "Rickettsia" in honor of the man who first noted its presence.
Ricketts never completed his work on Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, being drawn instead to the study of a related disease, typhus. In 1909, he was given a one-year leave of absence from Chicago to investigate a typhus epidemic in Mexico City. In a matter of months, using protocols developed in the spotted fever research, Ricketts was able to isolate the louse as the carrier of Mexican typhus, and on April 23, 1910 he announced discovery of a micro-organism-apparently a bacillus-in the blood of body lice and typhus patients. The confirmation of this discovery, however, was left to others, for ten days later Howard Ricketts died, a victim of the disease.
Series I: Correspondence. The personal correspondence is arranged chronologically and consists almost exclusively of Ricketts’ letters to Myra Tubbs during their extended courtship and engagement (1891-1900). His letters are both intimate and informal, containing detailed information on medical school, his early research in pathology, and the numerous odd-jobs which financed his education. Later letters describe living and working conditions in Montana and Mexico.
The professional correspondence consists primarily of job offers from various universities as well as Ricketts’ correspondence with President Judson regarding research funds, promotions, and departmental business.
Series II: Research Notes. This series contains notes and correspondence relating to Ricketts’ research in blastomycosis, typhus, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, as well as the data and protocols from this work, arranged chronologically under research subject headings. Also, included here are a series of notebooks compiled at Northwestern, Chicago, and during his European tour.
Series III: Writings. Consisting mainly of manuscripts, drafts and off-prints of articles, arranged chronologically, this series also contains an annotated copy of Ricketts’ Infection, Immunity and Serum Therapy (Chicago, 1906), based on his research at Chicago from 1902 to 1906.
Series IV: Memorabilia. In 1941, on the occasion of the dedication of the Museum of Rochester Academy of Science, Mrs. Ricketts and Elisabeth Ricketts Palmer assembled a scrapbook documenting Ricketts’ life and work. This volume, now disbound and housed in Boxes 15-17, includes family photographs, correspondence, and research materials, as well as awards honoring Ricketts. Owing to interest in Ricketts’ work, photostatic copies of this scrapbook were distributed to several libraries, and in 1965 Mrs. Palmer prepared a "second edition" containing supplemental materials. Mrs. Palmer also compiled a clipping scrapbook; a photostatic copy is located in Box 14. In addition, this series includes commemorative medals, photographs and material relating to the Howard T. Ricketts Museum in Hamilton, Montana.
Series V: Visual Materials. This series contains a set of lantern slides with photographs and charts, probably used for a lecture on Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Also included are many anatomical slides. Most are unidentified and undated, but a small number bear labels from Chicago laboratories and hospitals, and dates from the late 1890s to the early 1900s. Among the labeled slides are samples of blood and tissue from humans and animals, including typhus-infected blood and lice. None of the slides are believed to be related to Ricketts' studies of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.
The following related resources are located in the Department of Special Collections: