Name Emmett B. Carmichael/Alabama Museum of the Health Sciences Collection

Dates 1829-1980

Extent Approximately 266 cubic feet

Historical Note Dr. Emmett B. Carmichael (1895-1985), came to Alabama in 1927 as assistant professor and chair of the biochemistry department at the two-year Medical College of Alabama, then located on the Tuscaloosa campus of The University of Alabama.  When the college was relocated to Birmingham in 1945 and became a four-year institution, Dr. Carmichael transferred with his department and remained as chair of the biochemistry department.  At the time of his retirement in 1966, Carmichael, who had devoted almost 40 years of his life to the college, was named a Professor Emeritus and Assistant Dean Emeritus.  He remained an active force on the campus of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) for many years.  Emmett B. Carmichael died in 1985.  During the 1940s Carmichael, who had an interest in the history of Alabama’s doctors, dentists, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals, began collecting documents and items to preserve this history.  He eventually donated these items to the Medical Center Library (later renamed the Lister Hill Library of the Health Sciences).

Scope & Contents Includes correspondence, telegrams, manuscripts, matriculation cards, programs, catalogs, photographs, daguerreotypes, carte-de-visites,  notes, ledgers, curricula vitae, pamphlets, reports, minutes, journal reprints, news releases, photocopies of original materials held elsewhere, and (some) ephemera.

Arrangement Organized into three series: 1) Archival and Manuscripts, arranged alphabetically by individual or subject; 2) Diplomas and Certificates, arranged alphabetically by individual; and 3) Portraits, arranged alphabetically by individual.

Accession Number M97-03 (bulk) and various accessions

Provenance This collection began in the 1940s with Dr. Emmett B. Carmichael’s attempts to preserve the historical materials of Alabama's doctors, dentists, druggists, and pharmacists.  Eventually, Carmichael donated the collection to the Medial Center Library, where it was later housed in the Reynolds Historical Library and the Alabama Museum of the Health Sciences.  Successive curators and librarians continued to collect and incorporate material into Dr. Carmichael's original collection.  The entire collection remained in the Alabama Museum and the Reynolds Historical Library until transferred to the UAB Archives between 1997 and 2002.

Finding aid Printed descriptive guide by Tim L. Pennycuff, Jennifer Beck, and Stefanie Babinsack available in the repository.

Access Points Carmichael, Emmett B.,  q  (Emmett Bryan),  d  1895-1985.

Medicine  z  Alabama  x  History.

Medical students  z  Alabama.

Physicians  z  Alabama  x  Biography.

Physicians  z  Alabama  x  Correspondence.

University of Alabama.  b  Medical College of Alabama.

University of Alabama.  b  School of Medicine.

University of Alabama at Birmingham.  b  Alabama Museum of the Health Sciences.

University of Alabama at Birmingham.  b  Reynolds Historical Library.

Document Types Carte-de-visites.

Certificates.

Clippings.

Correspondence.

Daguerreotypes.

Ledgers.

Manuscripts.

Minutes.

Pamphlets.

Photographs.

Postcards.

Programs.

Reports.

Resumes.

Location Manuscript Stacks

Related Series   MC113, Emmett B. Carmichael Papers.

Physical Condition Materials have been placed in acid free boxes and most items have been placed in acid free folders.  No additional processing has been completed, metal fasteners have not been removed, and news clippings and photographs have not been separated from the printed materials.


This page created 1999 and last updated on 21 May 2014.

Copyright:  The University of Alabama Board of Trustees.