SKIN 
 

November 2018     Volume 2 Issue 6 
 

Copyright 2018 The National Society for Cutaneous Medicine 437 

COMPELLING COMMENTS 
 

 
Diaries of James Clarke White 
 
Tyler Marion, BS, MBA1, Jake Alan Gibbons, BSA1 
 
1The University of Texas Medical Branch School of Medicine, Galveston, TX 
 

 
 
James Clarke White, born in 1833 of Scotch-
Irish descent, was a true pioneer for the 
specialty of dermatology. Growing up in 
Maine, his innate sense of curiosity drove him 
to pursue many scholastic endeavors.  His 
early thirst for knowledge was genuine and 
without intention; he studied for the 
knowledge itself.  He learned botany and 
ornithology, and often shot and stuffed birds 
for the Harvard Natural History Society as an 
undergraduate.1 In his senior year of college, 
he chose medicine, writing in his diary: 
“There came to me this afternoon in church 
the sudden conviction that I would choose 
medicine as my life work.”2 
  
White earned his M.D. from Harvard Medical 
School. In 1855, he served as medical house 
pupil at Massachusetts General Hospital, and 
later traveled to Vienna to continue his 
medical studies.2 In Vienna, White became 
interested in skin pathology. There, he 
focused on dermatology without any plan of 
making it his sole focus. Much of his passion 
for dermatology can be attributed to 
Ferdinand Von Hebra, chief of the German 
school of dermatology, who captivated White 
with his teaching methods and detailed 
clinical illustrations.2  
 
Upon return to Massachusetts, White worked 
as a professor and developed the resolution 
to specialize specifically in dermatology, a 
rare decision in the medical landscape at that 

time. He was appointed as the first chair of 
dermatology at Harvard, a position 
specifically designed for him. White went on 
to become a founding member and first 
president of the American Dermatological 
Association.1 Additionally, White contributed 
to medical literature by publishing his own 
book entitled Dermatitis Venenata.2 In 1914, 
White privately published Sketches of My 
Life, a diary of personal reflections from his 
times at Harvard.1 Dr. White was a figurehead 
of dermatology and served a critical role in its 
development as a unique medical specialty. 

 
Figure 1. Photograph of James Clarke White.    
 



SKIN 
 

November 2018     Volume 2 Issue 6 
 

Copyright 2018 The National Society for Cutaneous Medicine 438 

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: None. 
 
Funding: None. 
 
Corresponding Author: 
Tyler Marion, BS, MBA 
The University of Texas Medical Branch 
301 University Blvd, Galveston, TX 
Email: trmarion9@gmail.com 
  

References: 
1.  Shattuck, F. (1917). James Clarke White 
(1833-1916). Proceedings of the American 
Academy of Arts and Sciences,52(13), 873-
876. Retrieved from 
http://www.jstor.org/stable/20025731 
2.  Post A. James Clarke White, M.D. The 
Boston Medical and Surgical Journal. 
1916;174(3):106-106. 
doi:10.1056/nejm191601201740318. 
 

 

mailto:trmarion9@gmail.com
http://www.jstor.org/stable/20025731
http://www.jstor.org/stable/20025731