Allen Debus Obituary

Debus, Dr. Allen George Professor, pioneer, and innovator in the fields of the history of science and medicine, passed away on March 6th of cardiac arrest after surviving and living productively for six years after a diagnosis of lung cancer. Dr. Debus organized and developed graduate and undergraduate programs in the history of science and medicine at the Department of History of the University of Chicago. He worked at the University of Chicago for over 35 years and was its first Director of the Morris Fishbein Center for the Study of the History of Science and Medicine. In his career that covered five decades, he wrote over 300 articles and reviews and authored or edited over 20 books. Dr. Debus also won numerous fellowships and awards. He was a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Overseas Fellow of Churchill College, Cambridge University, held Guggenheim and Fulbright Fellowships, a Fellowship at the Institute of Research in the Humanities at the University of Wisconsin, a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship at the Newberry Library, and a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship at the Folger Library. He was a visiting member of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Princeton. He was a member of numerous scholarly societies. He was elected a foreign corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences in Lisbon, member of the both the International Academy of the History of Science and the International Academy of the History of Medicine. In addition to his work at the University of Chicago, Dr. Debus served as visiting professor at Arizona State University and the Universidade de São Paolo, Brazil. Dr. Debus won many awards during his career including the Edward Kremers Award of the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy, the Pfizer Prize, and the Sarton Medal for lifetime achievement by the History of Science Society. Dr. Debus was also the recipient of the Dexter Award for outstanding achievement in the History of Chemistry given by the Division of the History of Chemistry of the American Chemical Society. Dr. Debus was honored by the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium with a D.SC. degree. In addition to his passion for the history of science and medicine, Dr. Debus was an avid collector of early sound recordings, phonographs, and sheet music from the turn of the twentieth century with a particular interest in vaudeville performances, ethnic music, and ragtime. His collection was well known by researchers in this area and many of his unique holdings have been used for collections produced by the Smithsonian Institution. He gave many lectures at national music conferences using his collection to demonstrate the mindset and interests of the American populace of the time. He co-authored The Complete Entertainment Discography: from 1897-1942. Dr. Debus was born on August 16th, 1926 in Chicago to George Walter William and Edna Pauline Debus. He lived in Evanston, IL and graduated from Evanston High School in 1944. He attended Northwestern University and received his B.S. in Chemistry in 1947. Dr. Debus received an A.M. in History from Indiana University in 1949. He worked for a short time as a salesman for his father's company in Chicago, "Modern Boxes" and returned to Indiana University to do postgraduate work. Between 1951 and 1956 he worked at Abbott Laboratories in Waukegan, IL where he developed a number of chemical patents. In 1956 he returned to academia and received a Ph.D. in the history of science from Harvard University. He began his career as a professor at the University of Chicago in 1961 and retired there in 1996. He continued his research as the Morris Fishbein Professor Emeritus of this History of Science and Medicine after his retirement. He resided in Deerfield, IL for the last forty years. Dr. Debus is survived by his wife of 57 years, Brunilda López Rodriguez, originally from San Juan, Puerto Rico who he met at Indiana University where they were both graduate students. Dr. and Mrs. Debus worked together at Abbott Laboratories. During their many years together the two of them travelled extensively throughout the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Brazil. Dr. Debus is also survived by two sons, Allen Anthony George (Diane) Debus and Karl Edward (Tanner Wray) Debus-López. He is also survived by seven grandchildren: Kristen (Ryan) Dennis, Lisa Debus, and Jennifer Debus; Sara Debus, Kathleen Debus, Allison Debus, and John Allen Debus. Dr. Debus' son Richard William Debus predeceased him. Visitation will be held on Friday, March 13, 2009 from 5 to 8 p.m. at Kelley & Spalding Funeral Home, 1787 Deerfield Road, Highland Park, IL. Interment Private. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Cancer Society, Lake Co. Regional Office, 100 Tri-State Int., #125, Lincolnshire, IL 60069. For information please call Kelley & Spalding Funeral Home 847-831-4260. For funeral info please call Kelly & Spalding Funeral Home at 847-831-4260 or www.kelleyspaldingfuneralhome.com