Dreisbach, Robert H.
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- In this oral history, Robert H. Dreisbach, Stanford alumnus (AB Chemistry 1937) and Professor of Pharmacology, Emeritus, discusses growing up in Baker, Oregon. He touches on his father’s work on the farm, at a creamery, and as a grocer and his mother’s beekeeping, and he describes Boy Scout meetings and hiking trips with his troop. He discusses his undergraduate days at Stanford from 1933 to 1937, recalling attending dances, the El Capitan Eating Club, and serving as the manager of the Stanford baseball team. He recalls his chemistry and physics professors and describes how a talk at Stanford given by a researcher from the Department of Agriculture awakened his interest in pharmacology and helped to convince him to pursue the subject while in medical school at the University of Chicago. Dreisbach briefly recounts his experiences during World War II, which included working as an instructor at the Stanford Medical School and military service as a ward officer at Lovell General Hospital in Fort Devens, Massachusetts and at a hospital in the Panama Canal Zone. He describes the Stanford Medical School when it was located in San Francisco and provides his recollections of the rationale behind its move to campus, including Windsor Cutting’s involvement. He recounts the origins and evolution of his work, The Handbook of Poisoning and the way that poison control centers embraced the book. Dreisbach describes the expansion of the Pharmacology Department after Avram Goldstein arrived from Harvard University to assume its chairmanship and its move to the Stanford campus. He remembers Goldstein as a “go-getter” and relates how he secured space in the basement of the Stanford Museum for a laboratory. Dreisbach explains how concern about smog and air pollution led him to pursue research and writing on environmental issues. An avid hiker, he closes the interview, which was conducted on the eve of his 100th birthday, by offering advice for longevity--keep climbing summits.
Description
| Type of resource | mixed material |
|---|---|
| Date created | March 28, 2016 |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | Dreisbach, Robert H. | |
|---|---|---|
| Contributing author | Marine-Street, Natalie J. | |
| Publisher | Stanford Historical Society |
Subjects
| Subject | Robert H. Dreisbach |
|---|---|
| Subject | Stanford Historical Society |
| Subject | oral histories |
| Subject | interviews |
| Subject | higher education |
| Subject | professors |
| Subject | Stanford University > alumni |
| Subject | Stanford University > Department of Pharmacology |
| Subject | Stanford University > Medical School |
| Subject | pharmacology |
| Subject | toxicology |
Bibliographic information
| Related item |
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|---|---|
| Location | https://purl.stanford.edu/pk286fj5916 |
Access conditions
- Use and reproduction
- The materials are open for research use and may be used freely for non-commercial purposes with an attribution. For commercial permission requests, please contact the Stanford University Archives (universityarchives@stanford.edu).
- Copyright
- Copyright © The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. All rights reserved.
Preferred citation
- Preferred Citation
Dreisbach, Robert H. (2016).
Oral History. Stanford Historical Society Oral History Program Interviews (SC0932).
Department of Special Collections & University Archives, Stanford University Libraries,
Stanford, Calif. Available at: https://purl.stanford.edu/pk286fj5916
Collection
Stanford Historical Society Oral History Program interviews, 1999-2022
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- Contact
- archivesref@stanford.edu
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