Herbert Morris Platter (June 18, 1869 – November 4, 1966) graduated from Starling Medical College in 1892. His medical license from the State of Ohio was issued May 25, 1896, the same year the state began issuing medical licenses.
Platter served as Assistant Secretary of the Ohio State Medical Board from 1896 to 1898, then joined the Columbus Health Department to help track down communicable disease. A smallpox epidemic was raging at the time, and claimed 52 lives before it was controlled in 1902.
Platter went to Berlin and Vienna in the early 1900s to do postgraduate study, and then returned to set up a dermatology practice in Columbus. His own practice which he maintained until the age of 80, and the job of setting up a formal health program for city schools, occupied him until 1917. Then in 1917 he began serving as Secretary of the Ohio State Medical Board, a position he held until 1966. He also taught medical law at Ohio State from 1929 to 1942.
Platter married Laura Bell Israel (August 8, 1870 – Aug 3, 1939) in 1898 and they had two children, Mary Katherine and Harold.
The Herbert M. Platter, MD Papers (2 linear feet) contains material related to Dr. Platter and his medical career.
This collection is arranged in three series:
Series I: Media (1 file) contains photographs of Dr. Platter. This series is arranged by type of media.
Series II: Professional (1 box) contains documents related to Dr. Platter’s medical career. This series is arranged alphabetically.
Series III: Oversized (1 box) contains a scrapbook, a plaque and several certificates. This series is arranged by item.
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. 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], Herbert M. Platter, MD Papers, SPEC.201618.PLATTER, Medical Heritage Center, Health Sciences Library, The Ohio State University.