Harold B. Myers papers

Dr. Harold Bunce Myers was born on July 31, 1886 in Oberlin, Ohio. His mother’s father was a doctor and Harold was determined to become the seventh doctor in the family. He spent his formative years in Janesville, Wisconsin where his father owned the Hotel Myers. When his mother died, Harold was only six years old and he returned to Oberlin to live with his mother’s family. Harold returned to Janesville when he was old enough for high school.

In high school he became involved in track to build up his physical strength. He developed into a determined runner. He continued with his running while in college and declined an opportunity to run in the Olympic games so his studies would not be interrupted.

In 1904, at the age of eighteen, he entered the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Harold arrived in Madison with only 30 dollars, which was soon stolen. His father did not contribute to the cost of his medical education. He secured all sorts of odd jobs and was determined to accomplish what he had set out to do even though friends tried to discourage his college education. In his sophomore year he met his future wife, Isabel, the sister of a team member. In his junior year, he was elected captain of the track team and held the western record for the half-mile.

In 1907 the University of Wisconsin began offering first year medical studies. Harold Myers had always been interested in medicine and in 1908 he graduated with a degree in Letters and Science. He was chosen as a member of the Bronze Key Sophomore Honor Society and the Iron Cross, Senior Honor Society. His early interest in medicine was in toxicology and pharmacology.

Dr. Myers chose the Western Reserve University in Cleveland to continue his medical studies because he had relatives living near and because classes were small. He entered as a sophomore in the fall of 1908. In 1909, Myers was made coach of the track team. He became a member of the Phi Rho Sigma medical fraternity and was a bit of a practical joker while living in the house. He was offered the position of intern at the German Hospital in Cleveland while still a senior and he refused an offer from the University of Wisconsin to become their track coach. In 1911 he graduated from the Western Reserve Medical College.

After graduation he married Isabel Hean and went into practice with an older relative, considering retirement, in Kankanna, Wisconsin. When this didn’t happen, Dr. Myers, with the help of Dr. Sollman, obtained the position of instructor at Bellvue Hospital Medical School. At the same time he acquired clinical training form Bellvue Hospital. In 1915, at 28 years old, Dr. Myers came to Portland to succeed Dr. Franklin McLean in the pharmacology department of UOMS. At this time the department was no more than an attic in the old building on 23rd and Lovejoy Street. Two years later he was made assistant dean when Dr. Richard Dillehunt went to war.

When the school moved to Marquam Hill, Dr. Myers helped turn the school into an excellent scholastic establishment by insisting on the highest standards. As Chairman of the committee on admissions, he personally interviewed thousands of candidates for entrance to the school. He did more than any one man to raise the standards of the medical schools in the northwest. Dr. Hanzlik, of Stanford, said Dr. Myers made pharmacology a living branch of medicine. He was also active in the field of toxicology and was called upon as an expert witness in cases of suspected poisoning.

Dr. Myers was always interested in the actual treatment of patients and although he did not have a private practice, he spent a good deal of time at the Out-patient Clinic at the school and helping neighbors. In addition to these services, for which he never charged, he took over the general practice of Dr. C. L. Booth on occasion and was liked by the doctor’s patients. Dr. Myers did essential and lasting work in pharmacology. He published approximately twenty papers in his lifetime.

In 1934, Dr. Myers had an attack, which he believed to be coronary thrombosis. He was unwilling to admit that his physical capacity had diminished but he was worried and felt that he did not have long to live. In the summer of 1936, he was unable to walk more than a few feet without resting. He collapsed in front of his class and it was hard for him to go back and lecture again because he was extremely sensitive about his condition. In the spring of 1937, after a strenuous week with the alumni association, he suffered a coronary thrombosis and died on March 17th at the age of 51. His wife, Isabel and four children survived him.

CURRICULUM VITAE

University of Wisconsin Western Reserve University Bellevue Hospital Medical College Intern at the German Hospital in Cleveland

Professional Career Positions Occupied in Regular Calling

Instructor of Pharmacology, Bellevue Hospital Medical College General Practice, Kaukauna, Wisconsin 1915, Professorship of Pharmacology, University of Oregon Medical School 1917, Assistant Dean, University of Oregon Medical School Professor of Pharmacology, University of Oregon Medical School Chairman of Admissions, University of Oregon Medical School Assistant Dean, University of Oregon Medical School

Societies and Clubs

Phi Rho Sigma Alpha Omega Alpha The University Club The Multnomah Club American College of Physicians American Medical Association Pacific Northwest Medical Association Deacon for the First Presbyterian Church Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics The American Academy for the Advancement of science Fellow in the American College of Physicians Portland Academy of Medicine