Ben Haneman AM,

FRACP Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, abbreviated as the post-nominal initials FRACP, is a recognition of the completion of the prescribed postgraduate specialist training programme in internal adult or internal paediatric medicin ...

(13 February 1923 – 18 December 2001) was an Australian

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and

book collector Book collecting is the collecting of books, including seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever books are of interest to a given collector. The love of books is ''bibliophilia'', and someo ...

.Susan Tompkins and Gerard Windsor
"Ben Haneman: a chivalrous life, of work and words"
''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'', 25 January 2002, p. 26; online copy, bookcollectors.org.au. Retrieved 8 September 2021. Rabbi Raymond Apple
Funeral Address for Dr Ben Haneman AM
bookcollectors.org.au. Retrieved 25 March 2021.George C. Wilson
Benedetto ("Ben") Haneman AM, MB BS, FRACP
''

Medical Journal of Australia The ''Medical Journal of Australia'' is a peer-reviewed medical journal published 22 times a year. It is the official journal of the Australian Medical Association, published by Wiley on behalf of the Australasian Medical Publishing Company. The ...

'', 176 (6): 292 (2002), mja.com.au. Retrieved 8 September 2021.

Early life and medical career

Ben Haneman was born Benedetto Haneman in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

, Italy on 13 February 1923. His parents were Nathan and Amulka Haneman. The family migrated to Australia when he was four. He attended

Canterbury Boys' High School Canterbury Boys' High School (CBHS) is a public secondary day school for boys located in Canterbury, a south-western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is located near the Canterbury Park Racecourse and about 200 metres north of Ca ...

and then the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

where he graduated in medicine. Having received his medical registration in 1944, he began working as a general practitioner in the

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

suburb of

Carlton Carlton may refer to: People * Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname * Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy * Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...

. Fifteen years later he passed the

Royal Australasian College of Physicians The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) is a not-for-profit professional organisation responsible for training and educating physicians and paediatricians across Australia and New Zealand. The RACP is responsible for training both ...

examination and became a consultant doctor specialising in

gastroenterology Gastroenterology (from the Greek gastḗr- “belly”, -énteron “intestine”, and -logía "study of") is the branch of medicine focused on the digestive system and its disorders. The digestive system consists of the gastrointestinal tract ...

at St. George Hospital in

Kogarah Kogarah () is a suburb of Southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Kogarah is located 14 kilometres (9 miles) south-west of the Sydney central business district and is considered to be the centre of the St George area. Loca ...

. He later became warden in clinical studies at the same hospital and was a "mentor" to generations of medical students. In 1971 he became a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. He was a long-time member of the

Doctors Reform Society of Australia The Doctors Reform Society of Australia (DRS), established in 1973, is a medico-political thinktank and a medical association of medical practitioners and medical students that has advocated a range of alternative views to those of the Australian ...

. He was interested in the

history of medicine The history of medicine is both a study of medicine throughout history as well as a multidisciplinary field of study that seeks to explore and understand medical practices, both past and present, throughout human societies. More than just histo ...

and became the Australian president of the

History of Medicine Society Founded by Sir William Osler in 1912, the History of Medicine Society (formally "section"), at the Royal Society of Medicine (RSM), London, is one of the oldest History of Medicine societies in the world and is one of the four founder committees ...

. Over the years contributed to many journals, magazines and newspapers including ''Australian Doctor'', ''Medical Observer'', ''RACP News'', ''The Jewish News'', the ''Australian Book Collector'' and ''Biblionews''.

Book collecting

Hanemann was a bibliophile who gathered together a "huge" and "eclectic"

private library A private library is a library that is privately owned. Private libraries are usually intended for the use of a small number of people, or even a single person. As with public libraries, some people use bookplates – stamps, stickers or ...

, comprising around 15,000 volumes and which included collections of books on

Spanish literature Spanish literature generally refers to literature ( Spanish poetry, prose, and drama) written in the Spanish language within the territory that presently constitutes the Kingdom of Spain. Its development coincides and frequently intersects wit ...

, history and culture, on the

history of science The history of science covers the development of science from ancient times to the present. It encompasses all three major branches of science: natural, social, and formal. Science's earliest roots can be traced to Ancient Egypt and Meso ...

biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

and on

Jewish culture Jewish culture is the culture of the Jewish people, from its formation in ancient times until the current age. Judaism itself is not a faith-based religion, but an orthoprax and ethnoreligion, pertaining to deed, practice, and identity. Jewi ...

. He had a passion for Spain that dated from his early years when he had learned to speak Spanish, and over a period of 30 years he collected 1,100 copies of

Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-emin ...

' literary masterpiece ''

Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of Wester ...

'' in 39 languages, both in the original Spanish and in "every ... significant English translation", as well as a number of illustrated editions400 years after Cervantes
sl.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 6 September 2021. of the novel, together with another thousand works on Cervantes. Haneman described what ''Don Quixote'' meant to him in the following words: "''Don Quixote'' is central to Spanish literature, to world literature, to writing, production and reading of books and, in my fevered belief, is central to living and being." In 1997 he donated his Cervantes collection to the

State Library of New South Wales The State Library of New South Wales, part of which is known as the Mitchell Library, is a large heritage-listed special collections, reference and research library open to the public and is one of the oldest libraries in Australia. Establish ...

where is it currently displayed on bookshelves lining the walls of the Library's Friends Room.Meet A Book Addict – Dr Ben Haneman
susannahfullerton.com.au. Retrieved 8 September 2021.

Public service

Haneman was a committed member of the Jewish community in Australia and served both as the "chairman of the Social Justice Committee of the Jewish Board of Deputies" and as a "member of the Great Synagogue Library Committee" in Sydney. He was a supporter of the Spanish community in Australia, and was a long-standing member of the Hispanic Society and the Spanish Cultural Society. He was an honorary professor in the Faculty of Medicine in the

University of Navarra , image = UNAV.svg , latin_name = Universitas Studiorum Navarrensis , established = 17 October 1952 , type = Private, Roman Catholic , chancellor = Fernando Ocáriz Braña , president = María Iraburu Eliz ...

Pamplona Pamplona (; eu, Iruña or ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. It is also the third-largest city in the greater Basque cultural region. Lying at near above ...

, Spain. During his retirement he worked as a volunteer helper in the State Library of New South Wales.

Awards and honours

* 1960: Member,

* 1971: Fellow, Royal Australasian College of Physicians * 1984: Knight (Caballero) of the

Orden del Mérito Civil The Order of Civil Merit ( es, Orden del Mérito Civil) was established by King Alfonso XIII of Spain in 1926. The order recognizes "the civic virtue of officers in the service of the Nation, as well as extraordinary service by Spanish and fore ...

(Spain) * 1988: Member - General Division (AM) of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

- "for service to medicine and to the Spanish community"

Ben Haneman Memorial Lecture

The biennial Ben Haneman Memorial Lecture is presented jointly by the Australian and New Zealand Society of the History of Medicine and the State Library of New South Wales. The Ben Haneman Memorial Student Prize was awarded annually by the Australian and New Zealand Society of the History of Medicine (ANZSHM) for the best student research essay in the

. In 2018 the Prize was discontinued in order to bolster the Ben Haneman Memorial Postgraduate Student Conference Grants, a travel grants programme.

Personal life

Haneman was married twice. His first wife was Marion Salkow,"Calendar Notes"
''The Sydney Jewish News⁩⁩'', 3 March 1950. p. 11. Retrieved 8 September 2021. with who he had two sons, David and Peter. His second wife was Beryl Thompson. He died on 18 December 2001 in

Darlinghurst, New South Wales Darlinghurst is an inner-city, eastern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Darlinghurst is located immediately east of the Sydney central business district (CBD) and Hyde Park, within the local government area of the City of Sydney. I ...

following a fall the day before in the State Library. He was survived by his two sons, his two daughters-in-law and his four grandchildren.

References

External links

Cervantes Collection donated to State Library of NSW by Dr Ben Haneman

Dr Ben Haneman in his private library (photograph)
at

National Archives of Australia The National Archives of Australia (NAA), formerly known as the Commonwealth Archives Office and Australian Archives, is an Australian Government agency that serves as the national archives of the nation. It collects, preserves and encourages ...

Ben and his books (photograph)
at Book Collectors Society of Australia {{DEFAULTSORT:Haneman, Ben 1923 births 2001 deaths University of Sydney alumni Australian gastroenterologists Fellows of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians Australian medical historians Academic staff of the University of Navarra Australian book and manuscript collectors Members of the Order of Australia Italian emigrants to Australia Australian Jews