DR. JOSEPH WILLIAM HOLLAND
December 22, 1869
Septerabec. 1, 1929
Dr. Holland died at ten minutes pa.st two o'clock in the aiternoon
on board the S. S. Doric, about two hours from Montreal. It was
a beautiful Sunday afternoon and we had had three quiet days on the
St. Lawrence river. His death came very suddenly at the end of a
vacation abroad, where he had showed a continuous interest and
pleasure in the manifold circumstances of European travel. The trip
had been free from annoyances and both crossings had been pleasant
ones. He seemed happy and contented and just before he died he
said that he had been feeling especially well and had never had a
more enjoyable time.
His death is a serious loss to the LIniversity of Maryland and
especially to the University Hospital. Teaching hospitals are earn-
estly seeking those who possess the following qualities — men and
women who are well trained in their respective specialties, who have
the ability and the will to teach and who, because of their character,
exert a strong influence on all the human elements that make up a
hospital. Because he had these qualities in such full measure, makes
Dr. Holland's passing such a grievous loss. He was an able surgeon,
painstaking, conscientious and skillful and was a teacher of rare
85
86
Editorial
Editorial ii?
fidelity, patience and success. He had had a long training in the ana-
tomical laboratory, so that he taught surgery largely from the stand-
point of anatomy and was a fine representative of a type of surgeon
that is now passing; but it is not in either of the above fields that
his loss is so irreparable. It is "Joe" Holland, the man, whose
place cannot be filled in the University Hospital group. It was the
courage and faithfulness, the justness and quiet strength that were
in him that make every one of us yearn to meet him again along
the halls and corridors of the hospital.
He was widely popular. Students and patients knew him as Dr.
Holland, internes, residents and nurses spoke of him lovingly as
"Uncle Joe" and his friends and associates called him "Joe." He
was impartial, just and honest in his contacts with everyone, so that
his colleagues came to lean on him in matters of judgment and
advice. He had the rare quality of talking frankly and plainly, un-
influenced by any personal feeling. He is dead and the world will
never again be c[uite the same, because we shall miss his friendship,
his gentleness and his companionship. We remember and repeat the
words spoken by David over Abner —
"Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day
in Israel."
Dr. Holland came of English ancestry on both sides of his family.
He was the son of Dr. John Thomas and Priscilla Atwell Holland.
His grandfather was William Holland and his grandmother Rachel
Harwood. His father was a native of Queen Anne County, Maryland
and it was here that Dr. Holland was born. He was related to many
of the old families of Virginia, Delaware and the Eastern Shore of
Maryland. There are many Hollands in England at the present time
and we saw the name Holland a number of times on the Menin
Gate, which is the memorial at Ypres to the unknown British dead,
who fell in Flanders field.
Dr. Holland entered the Medical School very much better prepared
than the average medical student of his time. He had attended
Washington College at Chestertown, ^Maryland one year and entered
the Wilmington Academy at Dover, where he graduated in 1889.
He then taught school three years. Two of these years he lived
at his father's home and was strongly influenced by this association.
Dr. John Thomas Holland, Dr. Holland's father, graduated in
88 1*J)1T()K1AL
medicine from the University of Maryland in the class of 1862. The
title of his thesis for graduation was "Vis Aledicatrix Naturae,"
and in style and content gave evidence of good foundation and un-
usual acumen. In these latter days, when requirements for the
study of medicine have become so advanced, there are many senior
students who could not give so good an account of themselves as
Dr. Holland did in his essay. He practised medicine in Princess
Anne and his conception of the science and art of medicine was
many years ahead of his time. He was so distressed by the ignorant
methods of his day and the tendency to the support of quackery on
the part of the public, that he wrote a book on "Rational Medicine
Versus Quackery." This book was never published, but Dr. Joseph
Holland had it typewritten and bound and it is a part of his lil)rary.
He was one of the first physicians in the country to advocate the
open air treatment of tuberculosis by forced feeding and was very
much criticized in his communit}', because he insisted that his patients
keep their windows open antl spend as much time as possible in the
sun and out of doors. His chief impatience, however, was because
of the ignorance of so many physicians and the widespread prevalence
of quackery. Altogether the older Holland was a very unusual man.
Practicing medicine as he did quietly in a country community, his
thoughts and actions ran far ahead of his generation. It is inter-
esting to note that in the catalogue of 1862. only seventy-three
operations were performed in the Baltimore Infirmary, which was
the forerunner of the University Hospital and only three of these
could be called major operations, two amputations of the thigh and
one excision of the breast.
Dr. Joseph William Holland graduated from the Medical Depart-
ment of the University of Maryland in 1896. He was Clinical
Assistant in 1895-96, and in 1896-97, was Second Assistant Resident
Physician and in 1897-98, was Resident Physician in the University
Hospital. In 1898-99, he was at first Assistant Superintendent and
afterwards Medical Superintendent. In 1899-1900, he was Medical
Superintendent in the City Hospitals at Bay \'iew. He gave a good
account of himself during the year he was in the City Hospitals. He
reorganized the service, started a pathological museum and altogether
showed those qualities that were later to characterize all his work.
In 1901, he I)egan private practice and was Lecturer in Clinical
Surgerv and visiting surgeon at Bav View. In 1902-03, he was made
Editorial 89
Demonstrator of Anatomy and Lecturer in Clinical Surgery and
taught Osteology. He was also attending surgeon to Bay View and
Demonstrator of Anatomy in the Dental Department and continued
in these positions until 1908. The simple reading of this list of
appointments shows his industry and interest in the art of teaching.
In 1908-09, he was made Associate Professor and Demonstrator of
Anatomy and Lecturer of Clinical Surgery and Osteology and
Associate Professor and Demonstrator of Anatomy in the Dental
Department and continued in these positions until 1915, when he was
made attending surgeon to the University Hospital and took over one
of the services in surgery. In 1920, he severed his connection with
the Anatomical Department and became Clinical Professor of Sur-
gery. From this time on he carried a heavy burden of surgical
teaching. Not only was he in charge of a part of the hospital
service, but taught in the dispensary two days a week a greater part
of this time and was Head of the Department of Topographic and
Surgical Anatomy, in which fields he did teaching of the highest
excellence and value. His long training as Demonstrator and Asso-
ciate Professor of Anatomy had given him a rare knowledge of the
structure of the human body and his work for the last nine years in
this department has been of an outstanding nature.
During the war he was a member of the commission whose duty
it was to examine physicians who were volunteering for service with
the Medical Corps of the Army. Pie volunteered for service in the
Medical Corps of the Army in April, 1917, and was commissioned
in May. He was not ordered out for active duty, however, because
the University authorities asked that he be put on the list of teachers
whose services could not be spared. In addition to these other duties
he served on numerous committees, taught surgery to the nurses and
occupied, in many respects, the most responsible and influential posi-
tion in the Surgical Department of the University Hospital.
He was married June 20, 1906, to Miss Pearl Huntington Robins,
the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Harrison Robins, who survives him
together with a sister, Mrs. Clarence Tucker and two brothers, Mr.
John Thomas Holland of Centerville, Queen Anne County, and Mr.
Cieorge A. Holland of Frederick County.
When Ex-president Elliott of Harvard was asked to name a text
for the Library of Congress he selected a passage from the Prophet
90 Editorial
Micah, "What doth the Lord require of thee?" As to how Dr.
Holland answered this question instinctively and unconsciously in
his daily life can best be stated by recalling one of the incidents of
Christ's ministry — "And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and
tempted him saying 'Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?' "
Then followed one of the finest lessons in ethics in all literature, —
the parable of the good Samaritan, at the end of which Christ asked
in turn "Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbor
unto him that fell among the thieves?", and the lawyer answered
"He that showed mercy on him."
In action and in speech Dr. Holland was a fine example of that
profession which Stevenson said "stands above the common herd and
is the flower of our civilization." It was of such men that the Bard
of Avon was thinking when he said, "Still in thy right hand carry
gentle peace to silence envious tongues.''
"Life is too short to waste
In critic peep or cynic bark
Quarrel or reprimand,
'Twill soon be dark."
Arthur i\I. Shipley.
This is from https://archive.org/stream/bulletinofuniver1415unse#page/n203/mode/2up/search/joseph+holland
December 22, 1869
Septerabec. 1, 1929
Dr. Holland died at ten minutes pa.st two o'clock in the aiternoon
on board the S. S. Doric, about two hours from Montreal. It was
a beautiful Sunday afternoon and we had had three quiet days on the
St. Lawrence river. His death came very suddenly at the end of a
vacation abroad, where he had showed a continuous interest and
pleasure in the manifold circumstances of European travel. The trip
had been free from annoyances and both crossings had been pleasant
ones. He seemed happy and contented and just before he died he
said that he had been feeling especially well and had never had a
more enjoyable time.
His death is a serious loss to the LIniversity of Maryland and
especially to the University Hospital. Teaching hospitals are earn-
estly seeking those who possess the following qualities — men and
women who are well trained in their respective specialties, who have
the ability and the will to teach and who, because of their character,
exert a strong influence on all the human elements that make up a
hospital. Because he had these qualities in such full measure, makes
Dr. Holland's passing such a grievous loss. He was an able surgeon,
painstaking, conscientious and skillful and was a teacher of rare
85
86
Editorial
Editorial ii?
fidelity, patience and success. He had had a long training in the ana-
tomical laboratory, so that he taught surgery largely from the stand-
point of anatomy and was a fine representative of a type of surgeon
that is now passing; but it is not in either of the above fields that
his loss is so irreparable. It is "Joe" Holland, the man, whose
place cannot be filled in the University Hospital group. It was the
courage and faithfulness, the justness and quiet strength that were
in him that make every one of us yearn to meet him again along
the halls and corridors of the hospital.
He was widely popular. Students and patients knew him as Dr.
Holland, internes, residents and nurses spoke of him lovingly as
"Uncle Joe" and his friends and associates called him "Joe." He
was impartial, just and honest in his contacts with everyone, so that
his colleagues came to lean on him in matters of judgment and
advice. He had the rare quality of talking frankly and plainly, un-
influenced by any personal feeling. He is dead and the world will
never again be c[uite the same, because we shall miss his friendship,
his gentleness and his companionship. We remember and repeat the
words spoken by David over Abner —
"Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day
in Israel."
Dr. Holland came of English ancestry on both sides of his family.
He was the son of Dr. John Thomas and Priscilla Atwell Holland.
His grandfather was William Holland and his grandmother Rachel
Harwood. His father was a native of Queen Anne County, Maryland
and it was here that Dr. Holland was born. He was related to many
of the old families of Virginia, Delaware and the Eastern Shore of
Maryland. There are many Hollands in England at the present time
and we saw the name Holland a number of times on the Menin
Gate, which is the memorial at Ypres to the unknown British dead,
who fell in Flanders field.
Dr. Holland entered the Medical School very much better prepared
than the average medical student of his time. He had attended
Washington College at Chestertown, ^Maryland one year and entered
the Wilmington Academy at Dover, where he graduated in 1889.
He then taught school three years. Two of these years he lived
at his father's home and was strongly influenced by this association.
Dr. John Thomas Holland, Dr. Holland's father, graduated in
88 1*J)1T()K1AL
medicine from the University of Maryland in the class of 1862. The
title of his thesis for graduation was "Vis Aledicatrix Naturae,"
and in style and content gave evidence of good foundation and un-
usual acumen. In these latter days, when requirements for the
study of medicine have become so advanced, there are many senior
students who could not give so good an account of themselves as
Dr. Holland did in his essay. He practised medicine in Princess
Anne and his conception of the science and art of medicine was
many years ahead of his time. He was so distressed by the ignorant
methods of his day and the tendency to the support of quackery on
the part of the public, that he wrote a book on "Rational Medicine
Versus Quackery." This book was never published, but Dr. Joseph
Holland had it typewritten and bound and it is a part of his lil)rary.
He was one of the first physicians in the country to advocate the
open air treatment of tuberculosis by forced feeding and was very
much criticized in his communit}', because he insisted that his patients
keep their windows open antl spend as much time as possible in the
sun and out of doors. His chief impatience, however, was because
of the ignorance of so many physicians and the widespread prevalence
of quackery. Altogether the older Holland was a very unusual man.
Practicing medicine as he did quietly in a country community, his
thoughts and actions ran far ahead of his generation. It is inter-
esting to note that in the catalogue of 1862. only seventy-three
operations were performed in the Baltimore Infirmary, which was
the forerunner of the University Hospital and only three of these
could be called major operations, two amputations of the thigh and
one excision of the breast.
Dr. Joseph William Holland graduated from the Medical Depart-
ment of the University of Maryland in 1896. He was Clinical
Assistant in 1895-96, and in 1896-97, was Second Assistant Resident
Physician and in 1897-98, was Resident Physician in the University
Hospital. In 1898-99, he was at first Assistant Superintendent and
afterwards Medical Superintendent. In 1899-1900, he was Medical
Superintendent in the City Hospitals at Bay \'iew. He gave a good
account of himself during the year he was in the City Hospitals. He
reorganized the service, started a pathological museum and altogether
showed those qualities that were later to characterize all his work.
In 1901, he I)egan private practice and was Lecturer in Clinical
Surgerv and visiting surgeon at Bav View. In 1902-03, he was made
Editorial 89
Demonstrator of Anatomy and Lecturer in Clinical Surgery and
taught Osteology. He was also attending surgeon to Bay View and
Demonstrator of Anatomy in the Dental Department and continued
in these positions until 1908. The simple reading of this list of
appointments shows his industry and interest in the art of teaching.
In 1908-09, he was made Associate Professor and Demonstrator of
Anatomy and Lecturer of Clinical Surgery and Osteology and
Associate Professor and Demonstrator of Anatomy in the Dental
Department and continued in these positions until 1915, when he was
made attending surgeon to the University Hospital and took over one
of the services in surgery. In 1920, he severed his connection with
the Anatomical Department and became Clinical Professor of Sur-
gery. From this time on he carried a heavy burden of surgical
teaching. Not only was he in charge of a part of the hospital
service, but taught in the dispensary two days a week a greater part
of this time and was Head of the Department of Topographic and
Surgical Anatomy, in which fields he did teaching of the highest
excellence and value. His long training as Demonstrator and Asso-
ciate Professor of Anatomy had given him a rare knowledge of the
structure of the human body and his work for the last nine years in
this department has been of an outstanding nature.
During the war he was a member of the commission whose duty
it was to examine physicians who were volunteering for service with
the Medical Corps of the Army. Pie volunteered for service in the
Medical Corps of the Army in April, 1917, and was commissioned
in May. He was not ordered out for active duty, however, because
the University authorities asked that he be put on the list of teachers
whose services could not be spared. In addition to these other duties
he served on numerous committees, taught surgery to the nurses and
occupied, in many respects, the most responsible and influential posi-
tion in the Surgical Department of the University Hospital.
He was married June 20, 1906, to Miss Pearl Huntington Robins,
the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Harrison Robins, who survives him
together with a sister, Mrs. Clarence Tucker and two brothers, Mr.
John Thomas Holland of Centerville, Queen Anne County, and Mr.
Cieorge A. Holland of Frederick County.
When Ex-president Elliott of Harvard was asked to name a text
for the Library of Congress he selected a passage from the Prophet
90 Editorial
Micah, "What doth the Lord require of thee?" As to how Dr.
Holland answered this question instinctively and unconsciously in
his daily life can best be stated by recalling one of the incidents of
Christ's ministry — "And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and
tempted him saying 'Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?' "
Then followed one of the finest lessons in ethics in all literature, —
the parable of the good Samaritan, at the end of which Christ asked
in turn "Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbor
unto him that fell among the thieves?", and the lawyer answered
"He that showed mercy on him."
In action and in speech Dr. Holland was a fine example of that
profession which Stevenson said "stands above the common herd and
is the flower of our civilization." It was of such men that the Bard
of Avon was thinking when he said, "Still in thy right hand carry
gentle peace to silence envious tongues.''
"Life is too short to waste
In critic peep or cynic bark
Quarrel or reprimand,
'Twill soon be dark."
Arthur i\I. Shipley.
This is from https://archive.org/stream/bulletinofuniver1415unse#page/n203/mode/2up/search/joseph+holland
DR. JOSEPH WILLIAM HOLLAND
December 22, 1869
Septerabec. 1, 1929
Dr. Holland died at ten minutes pa.st two o'clock in the aiternoon
on board the S. S. Doric, about two hours from Montreal. It was
a beautiful Sunday afternoon and we had had three quiet days on the
St. Lawrence river. His death came very suddenly at the end of a
vacation abroad, where he had showed a continuous interest and
pleasure in the manifold circumstances of European travel. The trip
had been free from annoyances and both crossings had been pleasant
ones. He seemed happy and contented and just before he died he
said that he had been feeling especially well and had never had a
more enjoyable time.
His death is a serious loss to the LIniversity of Maryland and
especially to the University Hospital. Teaching hospitals are earn-
estly seeking those who possess the following qualities — men and
women who are well trained in their respective specialties, who have
the ability and the will to teach and who, because of their character,
exert a strong influence on all the human elements that make up a
hospital. Because he had these qualities in such full measure, makes
Dr. Holland's passing such a grievous loss. He was an able surgeon,
painstaking, conscientious and skillful and was a teacher of rare
85
86
Editorial
Editorial ii?
fidelity, patience and success. He had had a long training in the ana-
tomical laboratory, so that he taught surgery largely from the stand-
point of anatomy and was a fine representative of a type of surgeon
that is now passing; but it is not in either of the above fields that
his loss is so irreparable. It is "Joe" Holland, the man, whose
place cannot be filled in the University Hospital group. It was the
courage and faithfulness, the justness and quiet strength that were
in him that make every one of us yearn to meet him again along
the halls and corridors of the hospital.
He was widely popular. Students and patients knew him as Dr.
Holland, internes, residents and nurses spoke of him lovingly as
"Uncle Joe" and his friends and associates called him "Joe." He
was impartial, just and honest in his contacts with everyone, so that
his colleagues came to lean on him in matters of judgment and
advice. He had the rare quality of talking frankly and plainly, un-
influenced by any personal feeling. He is dead and the world will
never again be c[uite the same, because we shall miss his friendship,
his gentleness and his companionship. We remember and repeat the
words spoken by David over Abner —
"Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day
in Israel."
Dr. Holland came of English ancestry on both sides of his family.
He was the son of Dr. John Thomas and Priscilla Atwell Holland.
His grandfather was William Holland and his grandmother Rachel
Harwood. His father was a native of Queen Anne County, Maryland
and it was here that Dr. Holland was born. He was related to many
of the old families of Virginia, Delaware and the Eastern Shore of
Maryland. There are many Hollands in England at the present time
and we saw the name Holland a number of times on the Menin
Gate, which is the memorial at Ypres to the unknown British dead,
who fell in Flanders field.
Dr. Holland entered the Medical School very much better prepared
than the average medical student of his time. He had attended
Washington College at Chestertown, ^Maryland one year and entered
the Wilmington Academy at Dover, where he graduated in 1889.
He then taught school three years. Two of these years he lived
at his father's home and was strongly influenced by this association.
Dr. John Thomas Holland, Dr. Holland's father, graduated in
88 1*J)1T()K1AL
medicine from the University of Maryland in the class of 1862. The
title of his thesis for graduation was "Vis Aledicatrix Naturae,"
and in style and content gave evidence of good foundation and un-
usual acumen. In these latter days, when requirements for the
study of medicine have become so advanced, there are many senior
students who could not give so good an account of themselves as
Dr. Holland did in his essay. He practised medicine in Princess
Anne and his conception of the science and art of medicine was
many years ahead of his time. He was so distressed by the ignorant
methods of his day and the tendency to the support of quackery on
the part of the public, that he wrote a book on "Rational Medicine
Versus Quackery." This book was never published, but Dr. Joseph
Holland had it typewritten and bound and it is a part of his lil)rary.
He was one of the first physicians in the country to advocate the
open air treatment of tuberculosis by forced feeding and was very
much criticized in his communit}', because he insisted that his patients
keep their windows open antl spend as much time as possible in the
sun and out of doors. His chief impatience, however, was because
of the ignorance of so many physicians and the widespread prevalence
of quackery. Altogether the older Holland was a very unusual man.
Practicing medicine as he did quietly in a country community, his
thoughts and actions ran far ahead of his generation. It is inter-
esting to note that in the catalogue of 1862. only seventy-three
operations were performed in the Baltimore Infirmary, which was
the forerunner of the University Hospital and only three of these
could be called major operations, two amputations of the thigh and
one excision of the breast.
Dr. Joseph William Holland graduated from the Medical Depart-
ment of the University of Maryland in 1896. He was Clinical
Assistant in 1895-96, and in 1896-97, was Second Assistant Resident
Physician and in 1897-98, was Resident Physician in the University
Hospital. In 1898-99, he was at first Assistant Superintendent and
afterwards Medical Superintendent. In 1899-1900, he was Medical
Superintendent in the City Hospitals at Bay \'iew. He gave a good
account of himself during the year he was in the City Hospitals. He
reorganized the service, started a pathological museum and altogether
showed those qualities that were later to characterize all his work.
In 1901, he I)egan private practice and was Lecturer in Clinical
Surgerv and visiting surgeon at Bav View. In 1902-03, he was made
Editorial 89
Demonstrator of Anatomy and Lecturer in Clinical Surgery and
taught Osteology. He was also attending surgeon to Bay View and
Demonstrator of Anatomy in the Dental Department and continued
in these positions until 1908. The simple reading of this list of
appointments shows his industry and interest in the art of teaching.
In 1908-09, he was made Associate Professor and Demonstrator of
Anatomy and Lecturer of Clinical Surgery and Osteology and
Associate Professor and Demonstrator of Anatomy in the Dental
Department and continued in these positions until 1915, when he was
made attending surgeon to the University Hospital and took over one
of the services in surgery. In 1920, he severed his connection with
the Anatomical Department and became Clinical Professor of Sur-
gery. From this time on he carried a heavy burden of surgical
teaching. Not only was he in charge of a part of the hospital
service, but taught in the dispensary two days a week a greater part
of this time and was Head of the Department of Topographic and
Surgical Anatomy, in which fields he did teaching of the highest
excellence and value. His long training as Demonstrator and Asso-
ciate Professor of Anatomy had given him a rare knowledge of the
structure of the human body and his work for the last nine years in
this department has been of an outstanding nature.
During the war he was a member of the commission whose duty
it was to examine physicians who were volunteering for service with
the Medical Corps of the Army. Pie volunteered for service in the
Medical Corps of the Army in April, 1917, and was commissioned
in May. He was not ordered out for active duty, however, because
the University authorities asked that he be put on the list of teachers
whose services could not be spared. In addition to these other duties
he served on numerous committees, taught surgery to the nurses and
occupied, in many respects, the most responsible and influential posi-
tion in the Surgical Department of the University Hospital.
He was married June 20, 1906, to Miss Pearl Huntington Robins,
the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Harrison Robins, who survives him
together with a sister, Mrs. Clarence Tucker and two brothers, Mr.
John Thomas Holland of Centerville, Queen Anne County, and Mr.
Cieorge A. Holland of Frederick County.
When Ex-president Elliott of Harvard was asked to name a text
for the Library of Congress he selected a passage from the Prophet
90 Editorial
Micah, "What doth the Lord require of thee?" As to how Dr.
Holland answered this question instinctively and unconsciously in
his daily life can best be stated by recalling one of the incidents of
Christ's ministry — "And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and
tempted him saying 'Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?' "
Then followed one of the finest lessons in ethics in all literature, —
the parable of the good Samaritan, at the end of which Christ asked
in turn "Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbor
unto him that fell among the thieves?", and the lawyer answered
"He that showed mercy on him."
In action and in speech Dr. Holland was a fine example of that
profession which Stevenson said "stands above the common herd and
is the flower of our civilization." It was of such men that the Bard
of Avon was thinking when he said, "Still in thy right hand carry
gentle peace to silence envious tongues.''
"Life is too short to waste
In critic peep or cynic bark
Quarrel or reprimand,
'Twill soon be dark."
Arthur i\I. Shipley.
This is from https://archive.org/stream/bulletinofuniver1415unse#page/n203/mode/2up/search/joseph+holland
December 22, 1869
Septerabec. 1, 1929
Dr. Holland died at ten minutes pa.st two o'clock in the aiternoon
on board the S. S. Doric, about two hours from Montreal. It was
a beautiful Sunday afternoon and we had had three quiet days on the
St. Lawrence river. His death came very suddenly at the end of a
vacation abroad, where he had showed a continuous interest and
pleasure in the manifold circumstances of European travel. The trip
had been free from annoyances and both crossings had been pleasant
ones. He seemed happy and contented and just before he died he
said that he had been feeling especially well and had never had a
more enjoyable time.
His death is a serious loss to the LIniversity of Maryland and
especially to the University Hospital. Teaching hospitals are earn-
estly seeking those who possess the following qualities — men and
women who are well trained in their respective specialties, who have
the ability and the will to teach and who, because of their character,
exert a strong influence on all the human elements that make up a
hospital. Because he had these qualities in such full measure, makes
Dr. Holland's passing such a grievous loss. He was an able surgeon,
painstaking, conscientious and skillful and was a teacher of rare
85
86
Editorial
Editorial ii?
fidelity, patience and success. He had had a long training in the ana-
tomical laboratory, so that he taught surgery largely from the stand-
point of anatomy and was a fine representative of a type of surgeon
that is now passing; but it is not in either of the above fields that
his loss is so irreparable. It is "Joe" Holland, the man, whose
place cannot be filled in the University Hospital group. It was the
courage and faithfulness, the justness and quiet strength that were
in him that make every one of us yearn to meet him again along
the halls and corridors of the hospital.
He was widely popular. Students and patients knew him as Dr.
Holland, internes, residents and nurses spoke of him lovingly as
"Uncle Joe" and his friends and associates called him "Joe." He
was impartial, just and honest in his contacts with everyone, so that
his colleagues came to lean on him in matters of judgment and
advice. He had the rare quality of talking frankly and plainly, un-
influenced by any personal feeling. He is dead and the world will
never again be c[uite the same, because we shall miss his friendship,
his gentleness and his companionship. We remember and repeat the
words spoken by David over Abner —
"Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day
in Israel."
Dr. Holland came of English ancestry on both sides of his family.
He was the son of Dr. John Thomas and Priscilla Atwell Holland.
His grandfather was William Holland and his grandmother Rachel
Harwood. His father was a native of Queen Anne County, Maryland
and it was here that Dr. Holland was born. He was related to many
of the old families of Virginia, Delaware and the Eastern Shore of
Maryland. There are many Hollands in England at the present time
and we saw the name Holland a number of times on the Menin
Gate, which is the memorial at Ypres to the unknown British dead,
who fell in Flanders field.
Dr. Holland entered the Medical School very much better prepared
than the average medical student of his time. He had attended
Washington College at Chestertown, ^Maryland one year and entered
the Wilmington Academy at Dover, where he graduated in 1889.
He then taught school three years. Two of these years he lived
at his father's home and was strongly influenced by this association.
Dr. John Thomas Holland, Dr. Holland's father, graduated in
88 1*J)1T()K1AL
medicine from the University of Maryland in the class of 1862. The
title of his thesis for graduation was "Vis Aledicatrix Naturae,"
and in style and content gave evidence of good foundation and un-
usual acumen. In these latter days, when requirements for the
study of medicine have become so advanced, there are many senior
students who could not give so good an account of themselves as
Dr. Holland did in his essay. He practised medicine in Princess
Anne and his conception of the science and art of medicine was
many years ahead of his time. He was so distressed by the ignorant
methods of his day and the tendency to the support of quackery on
the part of the public, that he wrote a book on "Rational Medicine
Versus Quackery." This book was never published, but Dr. Joseph
Holland had it typewritten and bound and it is a part of his lil)rary.
He was one of the first physicians in the country to advocate the
open air treatment of tuberculosis by forced feeding and was very
much criticized in his communit}', because he insisted that his patients
keep their windows open antl spend as much time as possible in the
sun and out of doors. His chief impatience, however, was because
of the ignorance of so many physicians and the widespread prevalence
of quackery. Altogether the older Holland was a very unusual man.
Practicing medicine as he did quietly in a country community, his
thoughts and actions ran far ahead of his generation. It is inter-
esting to note that in the catalogue of 1862. only seventy-three
operations were performed in the Baltimore Infirmary, which was
the forerunner of the University Hospital and only three of these
could be called major operations, two amputations of the thigh and
one excision of the breast.
Dr. Joseph William Holland graduated from the Medical Depart-
ment of the University of Maryland in 1896. He was Clinical
Assistant in 1895-96, and in 1896-97, was Second Assistant Resident
Physician and in 1897-98, was Resident Physician in the University
Hospital. In 1898-99, he was at first Assistant Superintendent and
afterwards Medical Superintendent. In 1899-1900, he was Medical
Superintendent in the City Hospitals at Bay \'iew. He gave a good
account of himself during the year he was in the City Hospitals. He
reorganized the service, started a pathological museum and altogether
showed those qualities that were later to characterize all his work.
In 1901, he I)egan private practice and was Lecturer in Clinical
Surgerv and visiting surgeon at Bav View. In 1902-03, he was made
Editorial 89
Demonstrator of Anatomy and Lecturer in Clinical Surgery and
taught Osteology. He was also attending surgeon to Bay View and
Demonstrator of Anatomy in the Dental Department and continued
in these positions until 1908. The simple reading of this list of
appointments shows his industry and interest in the art of teaching.
In 1908-09, he was made Associate Professor and Demonstrator of
Anatomy and Lecturer of Clinical Surgery and Osteology and
Associate Professor and Demonstrator of Anatomy in the Dental
Department and continued in these positions until 1915, when he was
made attending surgeon to the University Hospital and took over one
of the services in surgery. In 1920, he severed his connection with
the Anatomical Department and became Clinical Professor of Sur-
gery. From this time on he carried a heavy burden of surgical
teaching. Not only was he in charge of a part of the hospital
service, but taught in the dispensary two days a week a greater part
of this time and was Head of the Department of Topographic and
Surgical Anatomy, in which fields he did teaching of the highest
excellence and value. His long training as Demonstrator and Asso-
ciate Professor of Anatomy had given him a rare knowledge of the
structure of the human body and his work for the last nine years in
this department has been of an outstanding nature.
During the war he was a member of the commission whose duty
it was to examine physicians who were volunteering for service with
the Medical Corps of the Army. Pie volunteered for service in the
Medical Corps of the Army in April, 1917, and was commissioned
in May. He was not ordered out for active duty, however, because
the University authorities asked that he be put on the list of teachers
whose services could not be spared. In addition to these other duties
he served on numerous committees, taught surgery to the nurses and
occupied, in many respects, the most responsible and influential posi-
tion in the Surgical Department of the University Hospital.
He was married June 20, 1906, to Miss Pearl Huntington Robins,
the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Harrison Robins, who survives him
together with a sister, Mrs. Clarence Tucker and two brothers, Mr.
John Thomas Holland of Centerville, Queen Anne County, and Mr.
Cieorge A. Holland of Frederick County.
When Ex-president Elliott of Harvard was asked to name a text
for the Library of Congress he selected a passage from the Prophet
90 Editorial
Micah, "What doth the Lord require of thee?" As to how Dr.
Holland answered this question instinctively and unconsciously in
his daily life can best be stated by recalling one of the incidents of
Christ's ministry — "And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and
tempted him saying 'Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?' "
Then followed one of the finest lessons in ethics in all literature, —
the parable of the good Samaritan, at the end of which Christ asked
in turn "Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbor
unto him that fell among the thieves?", and the lawyer answered
"He that showed mercy on him."
In action and in speech Dr. Holland was a fine example of that
profession which Stevenson said "stands above the common herd and
is the flower of our civilization." It was of such men that the Bard
of Avon was thinking when he said, "Still in thy right hand carry
gentle peace to silence envious tongues.''
"Life is too short to waste
In critic peep or cynic bark
Quarrel or reprimand,
'Twill soon be dark."
Arthur i\I. Shipley.
This is from https://archive.org/stream/bulletinofuniver1415unse#page/n203/mode/2up/search/joseph+holland
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