Medical history: as it was; as it will be

Born shortly after World War I in 1919 and living through multiple wars, conflicts, and cultural changes in his ninety-six years, Erich Meyerhoff remained a student of history throughout his long life. He regularly attended the annual meetings of the American Association for the History of Medicine and other history groups such as the Medical Library Association’s History of the Health Sciences well into his nineties. This essay traces how the field of history and historical methods changed during Erich’s life and suggests that he saw history and librarianship as a means for achieving social justice and social equity.