Portraits in the Library

Amesse Memorial Collection

The Amesse Memorial Collection is named in honor of three generations of Amesse family physicians.

John W. Amesse, M.D., 1874-1949, graduated from the University of Michigan Department of Medicine and Surgery, Ann Arbor, in 1898. Because of John's love of books, this reading room is dedicated to him and to his family.  The collection was established with books from John's personal collection.  Additional items are purchased from the Amesse Memorial Fund.

John H. Amesse, M.D., 1915-1971,  was a native of Denver. After graduating from the University of Colorado Medical School in 1941, Dr. Amesse quickly distinguished himself in both his profession and his community.  He served in World War II and then established a general practice in Denver.

John C. Amesse, M.D., 1942-1968, died in a tragic mountain climbing accident in the Flatirons west of Boulder two days before he was to graduate from the University of Colorado School of Medicine.  A merit scholar at East High School in Denver, he received his bachelor's degree from Princeton in 1964.

Learn more about the Amesse family

Located on the third floor in the Special collections room

The Denison Family

Charles Denison, M.D., 1845-1909.  Dr. Denison was a prominent Denver physician and leader in the study and treatment of tuberculosis.  He was an early Colorado physician and Professor of Chest Diseases and Climatology at the University of Denver, 1881-1885.

Henry Strong Denison, M.D., 1883-1912. Henry Strong Denison, the son of Dr. Charles Denison and Ella Strong Denison received his medical degree from Johns Hopkins University.  He was a protégé of Florence Sabin.

Denison Stained Glass Window

The stained glass window, with the Denison family coat-of-arms, was donated to Denison Memorial Library in 1949.  It was originally located at a former residence of Charles Denison, M.D. on 1625 Logan Street in Denver.

Learn more about the Denisons

Located on the second floor past the south elevator

Frank Bradway Rogers, M.D., 1914-1987

Dr. Brad Rogers, first director of the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, Maryland, then served as director of Denison Memorial Library from 1963 to 1974. Dr. Rogers developed MEDLARS, the first electronic storage and retrieval system in medicine, a milestone in the evolution of modern health sciences libraries.

Located in the third floor Reading room

Florence R. Sabin, M.D., 1871-1953

Sabin was an American medical scientist and a pioneer for women in science.  She was the first woman to hold a full professorship at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, the first woman elected to the National Academy of Sciences, and the first woman to head a department at the Rockefeller Institute of Medical Research.  In her retirement years, she pursued a second career as a public health activist in Colorado, and in 1951 received a Lasker Award for this work. 

Dr. Waring

Located in the third floor Special collections room