Martha Gnudi, née Teach (26 October 1908 – 30 April 1976) was an American medical historian and translator.

Martha Teach Gnudi
Born(1908-10-26)26 October 1908
Died30 April 1976(1976-04-30) (aged 67)
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Southern California (B.A.)
University of Bologna (D.Litt.)
Occupation(s)Medical historian and translator
SpouseDante Gnudi
AwardsWelch Medal

Life and work

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Martha Gnudi was born in Sycamore, Illinois, on 26 October 1908. She was awarded a B.A. cum laude from the University of Southern California in 1929. Two years later Gnudi received a D.Litt. from the University of Bologna,[1] the first woman to receive a degree from that institution. She married Dante Gnudi in 1933. She published, together with Jerome P. Webster, Documenti Inediti Intorno Alla Vita de Gaspare Tagliacozzi in 1935. From 1942 to 1963 she was librarian of the Webster Library of Plastic Surgery in the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City, then took charge of the historical and special collections of the Biomedical Library of the University of California at Los Angeles.[2][3] In 1942, with Cyril Stanley Smith, she translated Vannoccio Biringuccio's 1540 De la pirotechnia,[4] the first book published on metallurgy. She then wrote, together with Webster, The Life and Times of Gaspare Tagliacozzi (1545–1599), a pioneer in plastic and reconstructive surgery.[5] She was awarded the Welch Medal of the American Association for the History of Medicine in 1954.[6] From 1967 almost until her death, Gnudi translated Agostino Ramelli’s 1588 Le Diverse et Artificiose Machine.[7] She completed the translation, but died on 30 April 1976, before publication.[8]

Notes

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  1. ^ "Martha Teach Gnudi Research and Publication Papers 1540-1977; History and Special Collections Division, Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library, UCLA". Online Archives of California.
  2. ^ Gnudi, M. T. (1964). "The Rare Book and History of Medicine Section in a University Medical Library". Bulletin of the Medical Library Association. 52 (3): 524–544. PMC 198170. PMID 14196146.
  3. ^ Gnudi, M. T. (1975). "Building a medical history collection". Bulletin of the Medical Library Association. 63 (1): 42–46. PMC 198854. PMID 1109618.
  4. ^ Browne, C. A. (1943). "Review of The "Pirotechnia" of Biringuccio: The Pirotechnia of Vannoccio Biringuccio. Translated from the Italian with an introduction and notes by Cyril Stanley Smith and Martha Teach Gnudi". Science. 97 (2511): 163–164. doi:10.1126/science.97.2511.163. p. 164
  5. ^ "Review of The life and times of Gaspare Tagliacozzi, surgeon of Bologna, 1545–1599. By Martha Teach Gnudi and Jerome Pierce Webster". British Journal of Surgery. 39 (153): 95. 1951. doi:10.1002/bjs.18003915334.
  6. ^ Darling, L. (1976). "Martha Teach Gnudi, 1908-1976". Bulletin of the Medical Library Association. 64 (4): 453–454. PMC 199285. PMID 788817.
  7. ^ Multhauf, Robert P. (1978). "review of The Various and Ingenious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli by Agostino Ramelli, translated from the Italian and French by Martha Teach Gnudi". Isis. 69: 134–135. doi:10.1086/351985.
  8. ^ Scanlon & Cosner, p. 89

References

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  • Scanlon, Jennifer & Cosner, Shaaron (1996). American Women Historians, 1700s–1990s: A Biographical Dictionary. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-29664-2.