Louis Virgil Hamman (December 21, 1877 – April 28, 1946) was an American physician who 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 is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

, 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 was established in 1845 by the Institute of the Brothers of th ...

. He then graduated with a

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

from

Rock Hill College Rock Hill College was a boys' boarding school and secondary school / high school located in Ellicott City, Maryland, the county seat of Howard County. The school was divided into two departments: preparatory (for ages nine and up) and collegi ...

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 university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Established in 1893 following the construction of the Johns Ho ...

in 1901.

Career

Hamman interned at

New York Hospital Weill Cornell Medical Center (; previously known as New York Hospital, Old New York Hospital, and City Hospital) is a research hospital in New York City. It is the teaching hospital for Cornell University's medical school and is part of NewYork-P ...

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 an assistant in medicine at

Johns Hopkins 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. Established in 1893 following the construction of the Johns Hopkins Hospital, th ...

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 Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) is the teaching hospital and biomedical research facility of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1889, Johns Hopkins Hospital and its school of medicine are considered to be the foundin ...

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. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

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 syndrome Hamman's syndrome, also known as Macklin's syndrome, is a syndrome of spontaneous subcutaneous emphysema (air in the subcutaneous tissues of the skin) and pneumomediastinum (air in the mediastinum, the center of the chest cavity), sometimes associa ...

and Hamman-Rich syndrome.

References

External links

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