Sunday, March 30, 2008

Happy Doctor's Day!

 Updated 3/2017-- photos and all links (except to my own posts) removed as many no longer active as it was easier than checking each one.


History of Doctor's Day
The first Doctor's Day observance was held on March 30, 1933, by the Barrow County Alliance, in Winder, Georgia. Eudora B Almond, the wife of Dr Charles B Almond, conceived the idea of setting aside a day to honor physicians. The day set for the recognition occurred on the anniversary of the first administration of anesthesia by Dr. Crawford W. Long in Barrow County, Georgia, in 1842.
This first observance included the mailing cards to the physicians and their wives, placing flowers on graves of deceased doctors, and a formal dinner in the home of Dr. and Mrs. William T. Randolph.
The full history of how it went from a locally observed day (1933) to a national observed day (1990) can be found here.
Through the years the red carnation has been used as the symbol of Doctors' Day.
Meanings of the Carnation Flower : Fascination, devoted Love
Deep Red Carnation : My heart aches for you or I admire you

Happy Doctor's Day to all of you!






2 comments:

Unknown said...

Happy Doctor's Day to you Dr. B.,
and to all of your doctor-visitors.

The language of flowers is a fascinating topic too -- there is a digitized version of Kate Greenaway's lovely book on this topic available here.

rlbates said...

Thanks for the link. I agree the language of flowers is fascinating.