Luther Emmet Holt Sr. and Luther Emmet Holt, Jr.:
A Guide to the Collection

OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION

HISTORICAL NOTE

Considered a pioneer in the development of pediatrics by many in the medical profession, Luther Emmet Holt Sr. (1855-1924) was a leading U.S. pediatrician in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Educated at the University of Rochester (1875) and the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University (M.D. 1880), Holt served his internship at Bellevue Hospital . By 1888 he was an Attending Physician at New York City 's recently opened Babies' Hospital. He wrote a mother's handbook that became an international bestseller, Care and Feeding of Children (1894). The handbook went through 75 editions. In the 100 years after its publication in 1896, Holt's textbook, The Diseases of Infancy and Childhood , became the authoritative English-language text on the topic, and went through 20 editions.

In addition to his position at the Babies Hospital, which he held until his retirement, Holt was a professor of diseases of children at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons from 1901-1922. He died in Peking in January 1923 while a visiting professor at the Peking Union Medical College .

Holt's patient records, 1901-1923, are located at Columbia University 's Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library. For a description, see www.library.cpmc.columbia.edu/hsl/archives/findingaids/holt.html .

One of Luther Holt Sr.'s five children (siblings were Calvert, Kenneth, Evelyn and Horace), Luther Emmet Holt Jr. (1895-1974), became an internationally known pediatrician like his father. Following his 1916 graduation from Harvard, Holt entered medical school at Johns Hopkins University , and earned his M.D. degree in 1920. In 1921 Holt Jr. proposed to Olivia Cauldwell, and they subsequently had three children, Neil, Arnold and Linda. By 1922 he had joined the staff at Johns Hopkins and begun the study of infant nutrition that he continued throughout his career

Perhaps his most significant contribution to the care of children was Holt's 1943 publication of a revised and enlarged edition of his father's signature book, Care and Feeding of Children .

He left Hopkins in 1944 to become director of pediatric services at Bellevue Hospital . By the time he retired in 1960, the department had become a major research center with a well-funded staff whose discoveries led to significant changes in the care of infants and children.

Holt traveled extensively throughout his career, working to improve nutrition and childcare throughout the world. He was founder and president of American Middle East Rehabilitation, Inc., an organization dedicated to the care of Palestinian refugee children. He also founded and served as president of the Society for Pediatric Research, and was elected president of the American Pediatric Society.

A particular interest of Dr. Holt's was the care of premature babies. This led to the development of the premature baby service at Bellevue Hospital. The service had equipment especially developed for the babies, and a teaching program for parents to help ease their anxieties.

Over the course of his career, Dr. Holt's research and activities earned him considerable professional acclaim and numerous awards, including the John Howland Medal and Award from the American Pediatric Society.

Further biographical information on both men can be found in the Archives' History/Biography vertical file.

SCOPE AND CONTENTS OF THE COLLECTION
This is small collection, consisting primarily of personal papers (correspondence, photos) of the two men with a few records relating to their medical careers.

ARRANGEMENT OF THE RECORDS
The documents are arranged in one small series and two major series:

Holt Family Geneaologies
Holt, Luther Emmet Sr.
Holt, Luther Emmet Jr.

ACCESS POINTS
Persons:

Holt, Calvert
Holt, Kenneth
Holt, Linda M.
Holt, Luther Emmet Jr.
Holt, Luther Emmet Sr.
Holt, Olivia
Jackson, Helen

RESTRICTIONS: None.

PREFERRED CITATION: { Indicate the cited item and/or series here }. Holt Collection. Archives, Frederick L. Ehrman Medical Library, NYU School of Medicine.

Detailed Description of the Collection

Note to researchers:
To request materials, please note the file name and box numbers shown below. If there is a classification number in parentheses after an item, please use that information in requesting it, rather than a box number.