Early Life: Arthur G. James was born Arthur David Giangiacomo on March 14, 1912 in Rhodesdale, Ohio, a small mining town that no longer exists in Belmont County. James was the third of eight children of Italian immigrants. His father was a coal miner who later owned a grocery store.
James’s education began in a one-room mining town school. When he was in third grade, James and his family moved to nearby Uniontown. As a boy, James worked in the family store, learning all phases of the business and helping to deliver groceries – first in a horse-drawn cart and later in a pickup truck.
Education: In 1930, he graduated from St. Clairsville High School as co-valedictorian. He attended The Ohio State University (OSU), eventually earning three degrees: a bachelor’s in 1934, a master’s in surgery and a medical degree, both in 1937. Giangiacomo literally means son of James; and, it was at some point between his bachelor’s and masters’ degrees (according to the name on these certificates) that James started going by the name Arthur G. James.
James did his medical internship at the University of Chicago and spent his second year as a surgical intern at Duke University Hospital in Durham, North Carolina. He then returned to OSU hospitals and completed his three year residency in general surgery. At OSU, he served as chief resident from 1941-42.
On February 29, 1940, James married Mildred “Millie” Cameron. They later have two sons, David and Cameron.
After completing his surgical residency, James wishing to continue training in the field of cancer, applied for and was accepted as a Fellow at Memorial Hospital – now known as Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center – in New York City. His fellowship began July 1, 1942 but six weeks later he was called into service for World War II with the 65th General Hospital, which he had joined while at Duke University. James served forty-three months in the Army Medical Corps as a major, twenty-two of which were in the European Theatre at the Duke University Army General Hospital. After the war he retuned to Memorial Hospital and completed his fellowship.
James came back to The Ohio State University in 1947 as an assistant professor in the Department of Surgery. He remained at OSU for the rest of his career, working his way up to full professor and chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology. James was also the first to hold the Lucius A. Wing Chair of Cancer Research and Therapy.
Dream of a Cancer Hospital: James once said, “All cancer will eventually be wiped out; there’s no doubt about that, I don’t know how long it will take, but… I’m sure that day is coming.” That belief coupled with his dedication to the idea that cancer patients need separate, specialized care, led James to lobby, campaign, and fund raise for thirty-five years to build a cancer hospital in Ohio.
Finally, on July 10, 1984, the groundbreaking was held to build what became the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute, commonly known as The James. At the time, there was no similar institute between the states of Texas and New York.
During his life, James served on the board of directors for the Columbus Cancer Clinic from 1951-1989 and also served as their medical director from 1954-1989. From 1957 to 1960, Dr. James served as president of the Ohio Division of the American Cancer Society, president of the Society of Head and Neck Surgeons (1967-68), and as president of the Society of Surgical Oncology (1970-71). Then from 1972 to 1973, he served as the national president of the American Cancer Society. Additionally, in 1987 James was inducted into the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans.
In 1989, at the age of 77, James stopped his medical practice when his Alzheimer’s disease progressed, but he remained an integral part of the cancer hospital by attending meetings, consulting, and writing letters.
Then on October 22, 2001 at the age of 89, James died of Parkinson’s disease. Even after his death though, he has and will continue to have an impact in the community through the cancer hospital he spent his career building, which is so fittingly named in his honor.
The Arthur G. James, MD Papers (approximately 165 linear feet) consists of artifacts, awards, slides, negatives, photographs, audio and video recordings, as well as various papers related to associations and departmental records, correspondence, and publications. These items document his position as the first medical director of the cancer hospital, his thirty-five year effort to acquire funding to build a cancer hospital in central Ohio, his presidential year with the American Cancer Society, his career at the Ohio State University, and his family life.
People of note in this collection include: William Farrar, MD; William G. Myers, MD; Vernal Riffe, former speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives; R. David Thomas, Founder of Wendy’s International, Inc.; and George Voinovich, United States Senator.
Related collections in the Medical Heritage Center holdings are listed below:
The William G. Myers, MD, PhD Papers (Spec.199801.Myers) as Dr. Myers was a longtime friend and colleague of Dr. James (they met in September 1930 as first year premedical students at OSU); and, Myers was also involved in helping to secure funds to build the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute at The Ohio State University.
The Robert M. Zollinger, MD Papers (Spec.199301.Zollinger) as Dr. Zollinger and Dr. James were colleagues.
Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute Records (Spec.201130.CHRI) as this collection is material about the cancer hospital.
This collection is arranged in nine series:
Series I: Artifacts, Artwork, and Oversized (49 boxes) contains three-dimensional artifacts and items that were too large to fit in standard-size boxes. The items are arranged into 3 subseries:
Series II: Associations/Foundations/Societies (32 boxes) contains papers relating to associations, foundations, societies and other organizations that James was either a member of or had contact with, usually in the form of receiving an organization’s newsletter. Items of note in this series include Box 54 which contains materials about Dr. James year as president of the American Cancer Society. The items in this series are arranged into 16 subseries:
The organizations with representation in this series are:
Series III: Awards/Memorials (8 boxes) contains awards, certificates, plaques, and statues given to James for his achievements by various organizations throughout his lifetime. The items in this series are arranged into 4 subseries:
Series IV: Cancer Hospital Research Institute (16 boxes) contains material relating to all aspects of the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute. The records are of hospital equipment; general information about or from the hospital; and, various committee meeting minutes. The items in this series are arranged into four subseries:
Series V: Correspondence (21 boxes) contains letters and memorandums mostly to or from Dr. James. The series has been arranged alphabetically by last name of the sender or receiver (whichever person was not Dr. James). When three or more pieces of correspondence belonged to the same individual a folder was created for that person. Each letter of the alphabet – except X which had no correspondence – also contains a general folder that holds all of the correspondence for that letter from individuals with less than three pieces of correspondence. The correspondence in these folders is also arranged alphabetically.
Series VI: Media (16 boxes) contains boxes of audio and video records, photographs, scrapbooks and slides. The Audio and Video Recordings are dated according to when the recording was made (i.e. their air date in the case of video recordings). Mildred James made each scrapbook which documents various aspects of Dr. and Mrs. James life. Each scrapbook is boxed individually and due to their oversized nature are listed under Series I: Artifacts, Artworks and Oversized. Boxes 160 – 165 of slides were added in April 2008. These slides were kept in the original order received and are numbered according to the slide tray number in which they were found. For example, item 1 in box 164 is called 29 as that was what was written on the slide tray. The items in this series are arranged into three subseries:
Series VII: Personal (8 boxes) contains material of a more personal nature related to James’ life. All subseries in this category are arranged alphabetically except “Talks” which is arranged chronologically. Because they are small in size, the subseries “Dr. Arthur James” and “Family” are boxed together; and, the subseries “Travel” and Work” are boxed together. Within the “Talks” subseries there is a box named “Talks – Incomplete Talks” which is comprised of talks given by Dr. James that are missing one or more note cards of each speech, in some cases there is only one note card for a speech as the others are missing. In these situations the card number has been recorded in the container listing. The items in this series are arranged into five subseries:
Series VIII: Publications (5 boxes) contains CHRI publications, James’s writings, and newspaper clippings about Dr. James and the cancer hospital. The items in this series are arranged into 3 subseries:
Series IX: Research (9 boxes) contains material relating to James’s Research and his OR and schedule books. Items of note in this series are Dr. James’s OR and Schedule Books. The items in this series are arranged into one subseries:
The collection is open to the public and is available for viewing in the Medical Heritage Center. Materials do not circulate and must be used in the supervised reading room. Some materials in the collection are restricted to protect privacy rights. They are designated “RESTRICTED” in the finding aid and on the file folder. Please see the Medical Heritage Center curator for assistance with restricted files. Other restrictions, including copyright, may exist and some materials may be too fragile to photocopy or digitize. The MHC charges for duplication services, which must be performed by staff.
[Identification of item], Arthur G. James, MD Paper, SPEC.200502.JAMES, Medical Heritage Center, Health Sciences Library, The Ohio State University.