THE EARLY HISTORY OF AMERICAN DERMATOLOGY

Scientific dermatology began on Nov. 27, 1801, when the old Hopital Saint-Louis, in Paris, was officially dedicated to the treatment of cutaneous diseases, with Jean Louis Alibert at its head. It was Alibert and later teachers, such as Beitt, Cazenave, Devergie and Bazin, who were responsible for directing the first faltering steps of American physicians toward the light of dermatologic learning. Barely one hundred years later dermatology in America has attained a commanding position in the entire medical world; it has been given professorships in practically all of the medical colleges, has an independent department—often the largest from the point of view of floor space and attendance—in the leading hospitals, with a number of hospitals completely self contained in all allied branches devoted entirely to dermatology, and has two dermatologic journals, one covering the entire dermatologic field and the other limited to dermatologic research. Up to October 1940 in dermatology