Barnes Hospital and the Washington University Medical Center

The author documents the development of the Medical School at Washington University since 1891, when the St. Louis Medical College was first included as part of the University. In 1909, Robert Brookings, President of the Corporation of Washington University, acquired a large endowment and moved the clinical and hospital facilities to a new location, enabled by the estate of Robert Barnes. Harvey Cushing was offered the chair of surgery but eventually decided in favor of Harvard University in 1910. Dr. Ernest Sachs was recruited to Washington University by Dr. Fred Murphy, and in 1919 became the first ever Professor of Neurological Surgery. The history of neurosurgery and those who served it at the Washington University Medical Center and Barnes Hospital is recounted.