Nutrition History

The imperative of preserving the historical records of science has long been appreciated by scholars in many fields (e.g. Medicine, chemistry, mathematics, physics, and, more recently, nuclear physics and biochemistry). Medicine and chemistry conspicuously have led the way in building impressive centers of history. The science of nutrition had no center of history until 1975, when Vanderbilt University created "An Accessible Archives of Human Experience in Nutrition", consisting of an extensive collection of monographs on the history of nutrition, 15th century-20th century, and an archive of the personal papers of nutrition scientists. This collection was formalized as a result of the initial major gift by Dr. W. Henry Sebrell, Jr. of his papers and those of Dr. Joseph Goldberger. Vanderbilt's History of Nutrition Collection and Archives has grown significantly since 1975 and has attained national and international recognition.

This collection is maintained in the Special Collections of the Eskind Biomedical Library. It represents the efforts and contributions of many individuals during the last three decades plus the encouraging support of the Medical Center's administration and of the major nutrition science society, the American Institute of Nutrition (AIN).

Vanderbilt's History of Nutrition Collection is particularly rich in the following subject areas:

Beri-beri

Culinary History

Discovery of Vitamins

Infant Feeding

Obesity

Pediatric Nutrition

Pellagra

Rickets and Vitamin D

Scurvy and Vitamin C