History of the Striker Society
 

The first meeting of the Cecil Striker Society was held on March 4, 1976 with a meeting at the Academy of Medicine of Cincinnati in the Daniel Drake Auditorium, 322 Broadway.  Present at this first meeting were: Dr. Cecil Striker, AD HOC Chairman; Dr. Saul Benison; Dr. Edward Gall; Dr. Leon Goldman; Dr. Arthur King; Dr. Ester Marting; Dr. Robert Rothenberg; Dr. Robert Stein; Dr. Thomas Versic; and Dr. John Hamblet, AD HOC Secretary.  The original name was the Medical History Society. According to a letter written by Dr. Striker, he had tried to establish such a society for over 15 years and was pleased to have finally succeeded. 

Following Dr. Striker’s death just a few weeks later on April 1, 1976, members of the Society renamed the organization :  The Cecil Striker Society for the History of Medicine. This was “a reflection of their great interest and affection for this highly regarded physician.”

The original purpose (taken from the By-laws) “will be the promotion and perpetuation of an interest in the history of medicine and of all of its related disciplines in the health care field.”  The Society met every other month, usually with cocktails and dinner.  Each meeting featured a presentation.  Records indicate many of the presentations were by UC’s medical historian at the time, Saul Benison. The Society also started the Cecil Striker Medical History Fund with a purpose to enhance the Center’s history of medicine collections.