Colebrook/Wright Papers

Repository: Royal College of Physicians of Ireland

Identity Statement

TitleColebrook/Wright Papers
Archive ReferenceIE RCPI/CW
Web Link to this Entryhttps://iar.ie/archive/colebrookwright-papers
Creation Dates1910-1980s
Extent Medium9 files

Context

Creator(s): Wright, Sir Almroth Edward, 1861-1947 Colebrook, Leonard, 1883-1967 Colebrook, Vera, fl. mid-late twentieth century

  • Administrative History ↴

    Almroth Wright was born in Yorkshire in 1861, the son of an Irish clergyman. Wright studied medicine at Trinity, taking his medical degree in 1883. Wright was appointed Professor of Pathology at Netley in1892, moving in 1902 to St. Mary's Hospital where he founded the research laboratory. In both institutions he researched extensively in bacteriology and immunology. During the First World War Wright established a research unit to study the bacteriology of wound infection, attached to the British Army Hospital in Boulogne. Wright returned to St. Mary's after the War and continued to work until 1946 when he was 85. He was made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in Ireland in 1933. Wright died in April 1947. At St. Mary's Wright taught many of the leading immunologist and bacteriologist of the twentieth century including Sir Alexander Fleming and Leonard Colebrook. Colebrook was born in 1883 and studied medicine at St. Mary's Hospital, where he received lectures from Sir Almroth Wright, who became a friend and research partner. During the First World War he served in the RAMC researching into wound infections at St. Mary's and in Wright's laboratory in Boulogne. Following the war he worked on the prevention of puerperal fever, establishing the effectivness of Prontosil. During the Second World War he worked on burn injuries and from 1942-1948 was director of the Burns Investigation Unit of the Medical Research Council. He died in September 1967.
  • Archival History ↴

    Wright's papers seem to have been preserved following his death by Colebrook, and after his death by his wife Vera. The papers were donated to the archive by Vera Colebrook, nee Locke, in 1984.
  • Immediate Source Acquisition ↴

    Donation

Content & Structure

  • Scope & Content: Wright, Sir Almroth Edward, 1861-1947 Colebrook, Leonard, 1883-1967 Colebrook, Vera, fl. mid-late twentieth century ↴

    Papers of Leonard Colebrook and Sir Almroth Wright, including papers relating to Wright’s writing on women, correspondence between the two men, and papers relating to biographies of both Wright and Colebrook.

  • Appraisal Destruction ↴

    Permanent Retention
  • Arrangement ↴

    Papers have been divided by subject, and the files arranged chronologically

Conditions of Access & Use

Access Conditions Access subject to the conditions laid out in the Heritage Centre Access Guidelines
Conditions Governing ReproductionCopying of archive material is subject to the conditions laid out in the Heritage Centre Copying Guidelines
Creation Dates1910-1980s
Extent Medium9 files
Finding Aids The collection list is available in the reading room or online Archive Web Link →

Allied Materials

Related MaterialThe Wellcome Library hold material relating to both Leonard Colebrook and Sir Almroth Wright, some of Wright's papers are also held by Trinity College Dublin.

Descriptive Control Area

Archivist NoteHarriet Wheelock
Rules/ConventionsISAD(G): General International Standard Archival Description. 2nd ed. Ottawa: International Council on Archives, 2000. IGAD: Irish Guidelines for Archival Description. Dublin: Society of Archivists, Ireland, 2009. National Council on Archives: Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names. Chippenham: National Council on Archives, 1997.
Date of Descriptions40695