Oral history interview with Wilbert R. Todd

Collection

Identifier: SR 9134

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This oral history interview with Wilbert R. Todd was conducted by Linda S. Dodds in Portland, Oregon, on March 29, 1980. At the time of the interview, Dodds’ name was Linda S. Brody.

In this interview, Todd discusses his college experience studying biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin and how he came to work at the University of Oregon Medical School, now known as Oregon Health & Science University. He talks about the growth of the biochemistry department at OHSU; describes the OHSU campus and how it changed; and discusses his fellow faculty members. He also talks about his involvement with the Association of Official Racing Chemists and with the Oregon Racing Commission. He discusses some of the students he taught, his research projects, and his brief tenure as president of the biochemistry department. He closes the interview by reflecting on his career. This interview contains explicit descriptions of medical experiments conducted on dogs.

Dates

1980 March 29

Creator

Todd, Wilbert R. (Wilbert Remington) (Interviewee, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society. Use is allowed according to the following statement: Creative Commons - BY-NC-SA, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/.

Biographical note

Dr. Wilbert Remington Todd was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1906. He earned a bachelor’s degree in 1928, a master’s degree, and in 1933, a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin. In 1934, he was recruited to run the nutrition research laboratory at the University of Oregon Medical School, now known as Oregon Health & Science University, in Portland. In 1935, he and Bertha Gertrude West were married; they later had three children. The same year, Todd began teaching in the medical school's biochemistry department. He was also a member of the Association of Official Racing Chemists, and was appointed to the Oregon Racing Commission by Governor Bob Holmes. He was a member of the OHSU faculty for 39 years, and served as president of the biochemistry department for one. He died in 1993.

Extent

0.1 Cubic Feet (1 audiocassette (1 hr., 2 min., 51 sec.) + transcript (24 pages))

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Oral history interview with Wilbert R. Todd conducted by Linda S. Dodds on March 29, 1980. Todd was a professor of biochemistry at the University of Oregon Medical School, now known as Oregon Health & Science University.