William H. Welch House

One of the "big four" founding professors of the Johns Hopkins University Hospital, William H. Welch (1850-1934), lived in this house from 1891 to 1908. Welch specialized in pathology and bacteriology but his most important contributions to medicine were in introducing European scientific research methods to the United States and in organizing medical institutions for research and teaching. He served as the first dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and in 1916 founded the university's School of Hygiene and Public Health, the first of its kind in the nation. Welch also served as the president of several medical organizations including the Congress of American Physicians and Surgeons, the American Medical Association, and the National Academy of Sciences. For its association with Welch, the house was added to the National Register of Historic Places and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976.

William H. Welch was born on April 5, 1850 in Norfolk, Connecticut. His father and grandfather were both physicians and they wanted Welch to become one as well. He, however, took an interest in the classics when he was 13 and dreamed of teaching it at Yale University. He studied classics at Yale from 1866 to 1870 but apparently could not find a job after graduating and, as a result, turned to medicine. He enrolled in the Columbia University (then College) of Physicians and Surgeons and earned his medical degree in 1875.

Welch then traveled to Europe to study in pathology and bacteriology in German laboratories where he met some of the leading medical researchers of the day. In addition to the educational aspect of his time overseas, Welch also admired the organizational structure of the laboratories he worked in and decided to design a research institute of his own based on the German model. Upon returning to America, he opened a laboratory at Bellevue Medical College, which is now part of the New York University Medical School. Unfortunately, the college only provided a budget of $25 and three small rooms.

Finally in 1884, Johns Hopkins University hired Welch, becoming the first professor of its new hospital and medical school (the hospital opened in 1889). He operated a laboratory based on the German model where he trained graduate students, who called him "popsy" (but never directly to him). It was the first graduate training program for doctors in the United States and his former students were highly coveted by other research institutions around the country. In 1889, Welch was appointed head of the Department of Pathology when the hospital opened. In 1916, the university appointed him director of the School of Hygiene and Public Health and he remained in the position until his first retirement 1926. However, the university appointed Welch as the first chair of history of medicine and served until his second retirement in 1931. During that time he developed the school's library, which was named after him. He died on April 30, 1934. He never married.

"The Founding Physicians." Johns Hopkins Medicine. Accessed February 15, 2023. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/about/history/history-of-jhh/founding-physicians.html.

Sheire, James. "William H. Welch House." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. January 7, 1976. https://mht.maryland.gov/secure/medusa/PDF/NR_PDFs/NR-357.pdf.