Ernst Boas (1891-1955), son of the anthropologist Franz Boas, was a physician noted for his work in cardiology, and like his father, he was very much involved with liberal social causes. Boas was an instructor in pathology and physiology, and an expert in chronic diseases. As a scientific investigator he developed the cardiotachometer and did primary research in many areas, especially on cholesterol and arteriosclerosis. He was one of the primary antagonists of the American Medical Association during the 1940s and 50s, a leading proponent of National Health Insurance, and an organizer of the Physicians Forum. The Ernst Boas Papers contains correspondence, diaries, notebooks, and manuscripts, relating to all of the varied interests and to his 400 or more publications. There is substantial material on Montefiore Hospital, Mt. Sinai Hospital, the New York County Medical Society, and the New York Heart Association. O f particular note is the correspondence with John P. Peters, a friend and liberal who was dismissed from the Public Health Service because of "disloyalty" to the U.S., in 1953, and whose vindication came from a landmark Supreme Court decision

This collection contains primarily professional correspondence and papers, but there is substantial material concerning Shryock family history. Most of the collection relates to Shryock's intellectual and social life at the University of Pennsylvania, Duke University, and Johns Hopkins University-- institutions where he made contributions as a professor of history and especially as a medical historian.