Colonel Charles Edward Woodruff photographs from California

Scope and Contents

This collection is currently unprocessed. Negatives (photographic) include N11784-N11796.

Arrangement

Arranged by catalog number.

Biographical / Historical

Charles Edward Woodruff was born in Philadelphia on October 2, 1860, to David S. and Mary J. Remster Woodruff. He attended Philadelphia's Central High School and graduated in arts at the University of Pennsylvania. Woodruff went on to attend the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis for three years, but rather than finishing his education as a naval officer, left the Naval Academy to study medicine. He transferred to Jefferson Medical College, graduating in 1886. Following his graduation, Woodruff entered the navy as an assistant surgeon. After one year, he was transferred to the army Medical Corps, where he eventually rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. While in the army Medical Corps, he served two terms in the Philippines, which inspired him to write his controversial books "The Effect of Tropical Light on White Men," "Expansion of Races," and "Medical Ethnology." He retired from the army due to poor health in 1913. After his retirement, he traveled extensively and studied medical topics, on which he published many pamphlets. In 1914, he became associate editor of American Medicine. He married and had two sons. On June 13, 1915, he died at his home in New Rochelle, New York, from arteriosclerosis.

For Woodruff's obituary, see "Charles Edward Woodruff," British Medical Journal on PubMed Central.