Dr. E. Murray Burns attended the University of Oregon as an undergraduate and went on to graduate from its medical school in 1931. He completed an internship and a residency in neuropsychiatry at Wisconsin General Hospital in Madison and added a second residency in psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
In 1941, he joined the 46th General Hospital in Portland, Oregon. Overseas he served with the 46th in Oran, Algeria where he used his training in tropical medicine and became acting chief of the medical service. After the 46th relocated to Besançon, France he treated large numbers of soldiers injured in combat. Postwar, he went into private practice for 15 years. In 1966 he did clinic work in Vietnam, and he served in various positions within the Veterans Administration.
Biographical information largely stems from the
This collection consists of Burns's historical writings and medical research, as well as correspondence and essays from colleagues. There is a copy of his work "History of the Medical Service" with related materials and an academic paper by Vinton D. Sneeden, M.D., entitled "Pancreatic Islet Changes in Human Malnutrition".
Burns's writing chronicles the preparation, logistics, training, and treatment of patients within the Army medical service. His work follows the 46th General Hospital from Portland, Oregon to Fort Riley in Kansas to Oran, Algeria and finally Besançon, France. It includes descriptions of the ailments they encountered, like trench foot, malaria, tuberculosis, typhoid, gonorrhea, and syphilis. He also writes about the mental health of soldiers.
The second work by Dr. Burns in this collection is entitled "History of the Oregon Neuropsychiatric Society". He wrote part 1, and part 2 was written by Robert S. Dow, M.D., Ph.D. The paper is an overview of the creation of the organization with descriptions of their early meetings beginning in 1938 and is a record of the topics that were discussed.
There are no restrictions on access. This collection is open to the public.
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E. Murray Burns collection, Collection Number 2025-016, Oregon Health & Science University, Historical Collections & Archives
Some records from this collection have been digitized and are available in the