Burns Library
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Burns Library
@burnslibrary.bsky.social
Boston College Archives, Manuscripts and Rare Books. Irish studies, Jesuitica, British Catholic authors, Boston history, and more
Contact us to look at the 1943 book yourself and read this blog from our friends at MGH for more of the story: mgriblog.org/2022/11/28/h...
How the Cocoanut Grove Fire Changed Burn Care at Mass General and Beyond
A small silver lining to the tragedy can be found in the advances in burn care that were made in treating survivors.
mgriblog.org
November 28, 2025 at 11:02 PM
In her book, “Burn Unit,” Barbara Ravage writes, “The patients exhibited every imaginable burn complication, making it possible to study this most complex of injuries in great detail. New ideas were tried, old methods discarded & the agenda for burn research was set for the next quarter century.”
November 28, 2025 at 11:02 PM
MGH treated 114 burn victims. Prior to the fire, MGH had researched new burn treatments including preventing infections by immediately covering a burn. This volume, published in 1943 by MGH dr Joseph Aub, was one of the 1st works to tell the story of the treatments tested in the wake of the fire.
November 28, 2025 at 11:02 PM
November 24, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Foch’s trip to Boston and his stop at Boston College is documented in our digitized “Father Rector” scrapbook. library.bc.edu/iiif/view/BC...
November 14, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Foch addressed BC students stating, “If we would make our countries great, more glorious, let both America and France take up the great work together and carry it through to a magnificent finish.” Students responded by singing both La Marseillaise and the Star Spangled Banner
November 14, 2025 at 5:10 PM
At BC, students dressed in cap and gown lined present-day Linden Lane to greet the Marshall, while thousands of others stood in the background waving French and American flags.
November 14, 2025 at 5:10 PM
This issue lives in the Ellerton J. Brehaut Boston history collection, which includes other contemporary sources about the fire! Check out the finding aid and visit us to take a look for yourself: findingaids.bc.edu/repositories...
November 10, 2025 at 4:11 PM
While Illustrated Police News had a sensational tone, many of the illustrations align with accounts from fire survivors.
November 10, 2025 at 4:11 PM
A little over a week late, the The Illustrated Police News, Law-Courts and Weekly Record published a special edition documenting the fire. These illustrations of the fire and its aftermath helped readers visualize the destruction and chaos.
November 10, 2025 at 4:11 PM
These photos were pasted into Sally’s journal and were likely taken during her stay in Hong Kong. Read her entire journal here: library.bc.edu/iiif/view/bc...
November 6, 2025 at 7:40 PM
“Peking was reported in Revolutionary hands. And Hong Kong went quite mad with joy,” she wrote. Sally felt that “all the race barriers” were down as the city celebrated. “The whole stay in Hong Kong was happy and exciting,” she recorded.
November 6, 2025 at 7:40 PM