Interview with Dr. Anne Janet Clark Rodman, granddaughter of William Henry Howell. 1976. by Hopkins Medical Archives

Interview with Mrs. Peter Rodman, granddaughter of William Henry Howell / interviewed by Larry Giustra and Rebecca Van Dyke.
Victor Almon McKusick Collection,
Item no. 200542.

Date: 1976

Description: In his interview, Dr. William Henry Howell's granddaughter, Mrs. Peter Rodman, reads passages from Dr. Howell's biography written by her mother, Dr. Janet Howell Clark. The biography begins by describing Dr. Howell's early life in Baltimore and his family history. Mrs. Rodman then details Dr. Howell's undergraduate career and graduate career at Johns Hopkins University. Mrs. Rodman describes several anecdotes of Dr. Howell's during his time working under physiology Professor Newell Martin. Dr. Howell's role in the founding of the American Physiological Society is briefly noted. Following this, Dr. Howell's courtship and relationship with his wife is described. His journeys to foreign laboratories and his time spent in Germany is discussed. Dr. Howell's experience teaching at the University of Michigan is also recounted. Mrs. Rodman then describes how after a brief stint as the Associate Professor of Physiology at Harvard University, Dr. Howell was offered the position of Professor of Physiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Howell returned to his hometown to teach, and Mrs. Rodman details Dr. Howell's family life in Baltimore and the family's vacations in Maine. Mrs. Rodman also describes several months Dr. and Mrs. Howell spent abroad in Paris in 1903. Dr. Howell's tenure as Dean of the medical faculty at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, including his research and publications is detailed. Mrs. Rodman also describes Dr. Howell after his retirement and speaks of many of the activities he participated in ranging from tennis to sailing. Mrs. Rodman lists the honorary degrees Dr. Howell received during his lifetime and reads a passage from a speech Dr. Howell gave at his 81st birthday party. Mrs. Rodman ends by describing the community Dr. Howell and his fellow doctors created for themselves and the parties and dinners her mother witnessed as a child.