William Osler's academic gown

When William Osler attended the British Medical Association meeting in Oxford in 1904 he was awarded an Honorary D.Sc., and when he returned as Regius Professor of Medicine in 1905 he was given a DM by decree so he presumably acquired two scarlet gowns, one for each degree. After Osler's death, one of those gowns was presented by Lady Osler to Walter Morley Fletcher who was a close friend of William Osler. After several adventures (the detailed history can be read in one of the photos below), in 1983 it was decided that the gown should be kept again at 13 Norham Gardens and should be made available for Regius Professors and Wardens of Green College who had the degree of DM Oxford to wear on appropriate academic occasions1.

The gown is on display in the entrance hall of the The Osler-McGovern Centre. Next to the gown's showcase a brass plate remembers that "The American Neurological Association / honours the memory of / William Osler / Active Member 1888 - 1905 / Honorary Member 1905 - 1919".

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  • Photos by ti.supmacinu|ihgrob.l#ihgroB acuL (September 2011), courtesy of the Osler-McGovern Centre.


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