Guide to the Papers of William McBride, 1953-1996

Summary

Collection number:

MS 9299

Creator:

McBride, William, Dr.

Extent:

(27 ms boxes + 4 ms cartons + 1 large folio box + 1 medium folio box+ 1 sound/av carrier)

Language:

English and English

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of William McBride, National Library of Australia, MS 9299, [series/file/item number]'.

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Part available for research; part not available for research. Not for loan.

Background

Content Summary:

The collection includes correspondence, technical papers, laboratory research papers, patient records, photographs, certificates, newspaper cuttings, printed material, legal case papers and manuscript drafts. A large proportion of this material is photocopies. The papers document the development of McBride's career, the establishment of his medical research organisation Foundation 41 in 1972, and his research into various drugs including Thalidomide, Bendectin (Debendox), Scopolamine and oral contraceptives. There are also papers relating to the allegations of scientific fraud made against McBride in 1987, and subsequent investigations by the Foundation 41 Committee of Inquiry (1988) and the New South Wales Medical Tribunal (1989-1993). As well, there are drafts of and research material relating to McBride's autobiography Killing the messenger. McBride received letters from or corresponded with medical practitioners and researchers, Foundation 41 staff, solicitors, patients and friends. Among the correspondents are John Darling, Paul Brereton, Phillip Knightley, Widukind Lenz, Judy Baber, Patrick Rooney, Betty Mekdeci, Alexander Karczmar, Merrilyn Walton, Maurice Marios, Sir Theodore Fox, Ian Munro, Kathleen King, John Chesterman, Josef Warkany, Helen B. Taussig, Virginia Apgar, Richard Smithells, James Miller, Sir Abraham Goldberg, Arthur Jurand, Ares Damassiotis, Theodore Ingalls, Heinrich Mückter, Peter Arend, J.W. Draper, W.F. Robinson, James Ebert and Ezio Giacobini.

Biographical Note:

William Griffith McBride was born in Sydney on May 25, 1927. He was educated at Canterbury Boys High School, the University of Sydney and the University of London. He graduated from the University of Sydney as Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery in 1950, and Doctor of Medicine in 1962. McBride married Dr Patricia Glover in 1957, and they have four children, Louise, Catherine, John and David. McBride was a Resident Medical Officer at St George Hospital, Sydney 1950, Launceston General Hospital 1951, and the Women's Hospital, Crown Street, Sydney 1952-1953. He was associated with the Women's Hospital, as Medical Superintendent 1955-1957, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist 1958-1963, and Honorary Obstetrician and Gynaecologist 1965-1983. He was an Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at St George Hospital from 1957. McBride has also been associated with the Royal Hospital for Women, South Sydney Hospital and Bankstown District Hospital. Throughout his career he has published letters and technical papers in various medical journals, including The Lancet, New Ethicals, Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, British Medical Journal, Medical Journal of Australia, Nature, Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health and Teratology. In 1969 McBride was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his role in identifying the teratogenic effects of the drug Thalidomide. McBride was the first to name the drug as a possible cause of birth defects in his 1961 letter to The Lancet, 'Thalidomide and congenital abnormalities'. In 1971 he was awarded the BP Prize and Gold Medal of the Institut de la Vie. He was also named New South Wales Father of the Year in 1972, and made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1977. In 1972 McBride established a medical research organisation, Foundation 41. A Committee of Inquiry conducted an internal investigation into Foundation 41 in 1988, following allegations of scientific fraud against McBride in relation to his paper 'Effects of Scopolamine Hydrobromide on the development of the chick and rabbit embryo', Australian Journal of Biological Science (1982). In 1989 the New South Wales Medical Tribunal began investigating complaints by the New South Wales Department of Health regarding both McBride's research and medical practice. In 1993 the Tribunal found the complaints relating to scientific fraud proved, and ordered the removal of his name from the Register of Medical Practitioners. McBride's account of the proceedings against him, Killing the messenger, was published in 1994. After numerous applications, McBride was reinstated to the Register of Medical Practitioners in November 1998.

Immediate Source of Acquisition:

Papers of William McBride were first acquired by the Library in April 1995. A second instalment was received from him in August 1995.

Arrangement:

For much of the collection, the Library has retained the order in which the papers were kept by McBride. All facsimiles have been photocopied to ensure preservation of their content. Any Files containing patient records, specialist medical reports or case histories are closed, as are papers relating to the Committee of Inquiry and Medical Tribunal proceedings in Series 10.

Conditions Governing Access:

Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1501964).

Conditions Governing Use:

Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions. For such material, written permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder(s). Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of William McBride, National Library of Australia, MS 9299, [series/file/item number]'.

Location of this collection:

National Library of Australia

Parkes Place

Canberra ACT 2600, Australia

Contact:

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