Louis Virgil Hamman (December 21, 1877 – April 28, 1946) was recognized as one of the great clinicians in his time.

Early life

Louis Virgil Hamman was born on December 21, 1877, in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, Maryland, to Agatha (née Haseneyer) and John A. Hamman. Hamman graduated from

Calvert Hall College High School Calvert Hall College High School (also known as "Calvert Hall" or "CHC") is a Catholic college preparatory high school for boys, located in Towson, Maryland, United States. The school's mission is to make its students "men of intellect, men of ...

. He then graduated with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

from

Rock Hill College Rock Hill College was a boys' boarding school located in Ellicott City, Maryland. The school was divided into two departments: preparatory (for ages nine and up) and collegiate. The curriculum was based on physical education, sciences, and class ...

in 1895. He was graduated M.D. from

Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM) is the medical school of Johns Hopkins University, a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1893, the School of Medicine shares a campus with the Johns Hopkins Hospi ...

in 1901.

Career

Hamman interned at New York Hospital from 1901 to 1902 and served as a resident physician until 1903. Hamman returned in 1903 to his alma mater to practice medicine. Hamman served as assistant in medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine from 1903 to 1906. He then served as instructor from 1906 to 1908 and associate in medicine from 1908 to 1915. He was associate professor of clinical medicine from 1915 to 1932. In 1932, he was appointed associate professor of medicine. He become head of the new Phipps Tuberculosis Clinic. He said: "The physician, consciously or otherwise, depends for success in his practice on his abilities as a psychiatrist." Hamman was assistant visiting physician at

Johns Hopkins Hospital The Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) is the teaching hospital and biomedical research facility of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, located in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. It was founded in 1889 using money from a bequest of over $7 million (1873 m ...

from 1908 to 1928. He served as visiting physician from 1928 to his death. Hamman was elected vice president of the

Association of American Physicians The Association of American Physicians (AAP) is an honorary medical society founded in 1885 by the Canadian physician Sir William Osler and six other distinguished physicians of his era for "the advancement of scientific and practical medicine." ...

in 1939. He was a member of

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...

and served as corresponding secretary of the International Anti-Tuberculosis Society.

Personal life

Hamman married Mary Brereton Sharretts in 1906. She died in 1940. He married Marian Campbell Bond in February 1943. He had one son and two daughters, Louis Jr., Mrs. Kenneth Sharretts and Mrs. Franklin Ray. Hamman died on April 28, 1946, at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.

Legacy

Conditions which carry his name:

Hamman's sign Hamman's sign (rarely, Hammond's sign or Hammond's crunch) is a crunching, rasping sound, synchronous with the heartbeat, heard over the precordium in spontaneous mediastinal emphysema. It is felt to result from the heart beating against air-fille ...

, Hamman's syndrome and Hamman-Rich syndrome.

References

External links

* 1877 births 1946 deaths Physicians from Baltimore Johns Hopkins University alumni {{US-physician-stub