William Osler's influence on the career of Tinsley Randolph Harrison

In 1957, I was graduated from what was then the Medical College of Alabama, a division of the University of Alabama. It was a privilege and honor to be on Dr. Harrison's service on two occasions during my last 2 years of medical school. He was the most influential role model during my student years and has remained so throughout my professional life. I have always benefitted from his writings, his profound philosophical approach to medicine, and his numerous aphorisms. Only in later years have I come to know of the tremendous influence of William Osler on Tinsley Harrison through his father, William Groce Harrison. Unfortunately, Tinsley Harrison never knew Sir William Osler because he died the year Tinsley Harrison began his second year of medical school at Johns Hopkins. This connection is interesting from many standpoints. For instance, Osler advised Groce Harrison to make Tinsley a "teacher of medicine" when Tinsley was only 3 years old. Through the advice of his father, Tinsley followed the Oslerian tradition throughout his life. This paper presents several similarities between Osler and Harrison.