The Frederick Lee Liebolt Papers (MC 1369)
About the Collection
Frederick Lee Liebolt bequeathed his papers to the University of Arkansas Libraries, where they were received in 1997. The papers document the life and achievements of a pioneering orthopedic surgeon, a successful and respected practitioner, a devoted father, and a generous and loyal alumnus of the University. The collection consists of professional papers and research files, photographs and medical slides, surgical equipment, memorabilia, including professional honors and certificates, diaries, appointment books, souvenirs of his professional travels, family history scrapbooks, and a University of Arkansas freshman beanie. During the course of a career spanning nearly half a century he treated more than ten thousand patients, with some of whom he maintained a lively exchange of letters. The files of correspondence include letters from such prominent Arkansas figures as J. William Fulbright, Edward Durell Stone, and Charles Morrow Wilson.
About Frederick Lee Liebolt
Frederick Lee Liebolt was born in Maquon, Illinois, on August 10, 1905. In 1910, the family moved to Arkansas. As a boy he grew up on a farm on the outskirts of Fayetteville. He graduated from University High School in 1921. He continued his education at the University of Arkansas, where he became the youngest graduate when he received the Bachelor of Arts degree in 1925. Too young to enter medical school, he attended graduate school at the University of Kansas during the 1925-1926 academic year. From there he went to St. Louis, where he received his medical degree at Washington University in 1930 and, once more, was the youngest graduate. He then held a medical internship at St. Luke's Hospital in Kansas City and a surgical internship at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis. From there he moved to New York City, where he continued his medical training and education. At the New York Orthopedic Hospital, Columbia University, he first held an internship and later a fellowship. He received a Doctor of Science in Medicine degree from Columbia University in 1937. He subsequently held posts at several teaching and research institutions, including Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and the Cornell University Medical College. He was also an attending orthopedic surgeon at The New York Hospital and The Hospital for Special Surgery while maintaining a private practice.
During World War II, Dr. Liebolt served in the Army Air Force first as a major, then lieutenant colonel. His position was chief of the orthopedic service at the Army Air Force Regional and Convalescent Hospital in Coral Gables, Florida. He received an Army Commendation Ribbon for his work and a citation which stated that "the hospital treated an average monthly census of 702 orthopedic patients and performed 93 operations monthly with no deaths and the lowest Certificate of Discharge for Disability rate throughout the army hospital installations." When he retired from military service in 1962, he held the rank of colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve Corps.
In 1946, Dr. Liebolt resumed his practice and teaching in New York. He developed several innovations in orthopedic surgical equipment and was the author of over thirty research papers, a number of which were reprinted in several languages in foreign journals. He contributed chapters in eight books on orthopedics, and his own book, Illustrated Review of Fracture Treatment, was published in 1954. He was one of seven surgeons first to perform an operation on live television, which occurred during the meeting of the American College of Surgeons in New York in 1947. His medical exhibit, "Injuries to the Menisci of the Knee Joint," was shown widely and received the national Gold Medal Award by the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons in 1952.
Besides his professional affiliation with numerous medical societies, Dr. Liebolt was a member of various patriotic societies, including the Sons of the American Revolution, of which he was president of the New York chapter. He was also a Master Mason of Kane Lodge and for over fifty years a member of the University Club, both in New York. He was a member of The Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church where, in 1951, he gave an address entitled "Religion and Healing." Later that year he was invited to broadcast that address on the Mary Margaret McBride program on CBS radio.
Though a resident of New York, Dr. Liebolt maintained close ties to Arkansas and especially to his alma mater in Fayetteville. In 1948, the University of Arkansas awarded Dr. Liebolt an honorary Doctor of Laws degree. In 1973, he was named a distinguished alumnus. In 1985, Dr. Liebolt established a Chair of Premedical Sciences on the Fayetteville campus to enhance the study of the basic sciences for students interested in the field of medicine. He delivered the commencement address to the graduating class of the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences in 1989.
In addition to documenting Dr. Liebolt's professional career, the collection illustrates his close family connections, ranging from childhood letters to his relatives to photographs and souvenirs of family vacations throughout the United States and abroad. There are also many mementoes of his participation in New York society, patriotic organizations, and his church. Dr. Liebolt died in New York on August 1, 1996. He is survived by his three children and three grandchildren.
Access
A descriptive finding aid to the collection is available online.
Access to the Frederick Lee Liebolt Papers is open to students, faculty, and others upon application to the staff. Researchers may direct inquiries to Special Collections, but extensive projects will require a visit to the department. To facilitate their work, researchers who wish to use the papers are advised to email, write, or telephone the department in advance. Researchers are advised that, due to patient confidentiality laws, portions of the collection are closed indefinitely.