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 Reproduction
Copying of archive material is subject to the conditions laid out in the Heritage Centre Copying Guidelines
Creation Dates
1910-1980s
Extent Medium
9 files
Finding Aids
The collection list is available in the reading room or online
Archive Web Link →
Allied Materials
Related Material
The 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 Note
Harriet Wheelock
Rules/Conventions
ISAD(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.