DODD 317 DOLLEY Dodd, Walter James (1869-1916). Walter James Dodd, pioneer Roentgenolo- gist and a martyr to his specialty, was born in London, England, in the year 1869 and came to this country as an immigrant boy at the age of fifteen. He was early moved to follow the sea, but was induced by the college authori- ties, impressed by his ability, to continue life here as an assistant in the chemical laboratory of Harvard College in Cambridge, Massachu- setts. He acquired a profound knowledge of chemistry and in 1892 was appointed to the Massachusetts General Hospital as assistant apothecary and four years later as apothecary. It was in this capacity that he undertook ex- perimentation with X-rays under the usual unfortunate and restricted conditions which obtained in the early days. A severe derma- titis was therefore sustained in 1896 and he underwent his first operation for its results in 1898. Since that time he had been the subject of fifty operations for roentgen dermatitis and its sequelae. Seeking to dignify further his work, which already through his sacrifices had attained high dignity. Dr. Dodd studied at the Harvard Medical School in 1900 and 1901, but completed his course and was graduated from the medi- cal department of the University of Vermont in 1908. From that year until his death he held the position of Roentgenologist to the Massa- chusetts General Hospital, an official recogni- tion of what had been, in reality, his position for many years. With the- organization of a department of roentgenology in Harvard University, he was appointed instructor, a position which he held at the time of his death. He was an honored member of the St. Botolph Club of Boston, ^ as well as of many medical societies, in ad- dition to his membership in the American Roentgen Ray Society. He married Margaret Lea of Moncton, Nova Scotia. Dr. Dodd died December 18, 1916, following still another operation for infected glands. Such, briefly, were the events in a life of singular beauty — the life of a gentle man, lov- ing and beloved ; cheerful beyond conception in the face of physical anguish. Glorified by a martyr's soul, his face turned toward the horizon of high purpose, with an obliteration of self that cheapened and made tawdry the usual motives of ordinary men. He journeyed steadily on toward that horizon, turning into the gold of loyal friendship all those who came within the Midas-touch of his personality. A life such as his gives charity a new mean- ing. As a crown to its later years, his ear was alert to hear from the far land of his adoption, the call of the nation of his birth, in dire need of the peculiar service which he could give. Disdaining physical handicaps and added risks, he hastened forth to labor for England with a heroism that even she knew not of. Thus again have fallen the burden and the staff and again has another been received into the glorious band of those that self-sacrifice, upon the altar of a noble cause, has immor- talized. Percy Brown. Amer. Jour, of Roentgenology, January, 1917. Dolley, Sarah Adamson {1829-1909). Born March 11, 1829, of Quaker and Hugue- not descent, her education was gained in schools conducted by the Society of Friends. At the age of eighteen, having come across a copy of WSstar's anatomy, she devoted a winter to its study and became fired with am- bition to be a doctor. Her uncle. Dr. Hiram Corson (q. v.), of Plymouth, Pennsylvania, dis- couraged her, saying she could never hope to be recognized as a physician, but when she was accepted as a student by another physician, he reconsidered her proposition and took her as a student. Her uncle's influence secured her entrance to the Rochester Medical College — now passed out of existence — from which she graduated in 1851, the second woinan in America to receive a medical diploma. In 1851 Dr. Isaac A. Pennypacker and Dr. Hiram Corson sent a communication to the Board of Guardians of the Poor of Philadel- phia, recommending that Miss Sarah Adamson be appointed to "such a situation in the Block- ley Hospital as will afford her the opportunity of seeing practice." The request was granted as the committee believed that opportunity tor the study of obstetrics and the diseases of women and children should be extended to well-educated female physicians, but she was to have no salary and to help where required. She entered upon her work May 12, 1851. In 1853 Miss Adamson returned to Rochester and married Dr. Lester S. Dolley. The story of her work is written into nearly sixty years of the history of Rochester where she had a long and useful career. Dr. Sarah Dolley and her husband practised together until his death in the early seventies. Dr. Dolley was ever a potent factor in all work for the advancement of women in medi- cine. In 1886 she helped organize the first free dispensary in Rochester for women and children, and in 1887 organized and was the
