Medicine
Giving a Voice to the Dead: Remembering Chao Tzee Cheng
As a forensic pathologist, Chao Tzee Cheng helped bring murderers to justice.
Labouring to Deliver: A History of Kandang Kerbau Hospital
The old Kandang Kerbau Hospital was once known as the busiest maternity hospital in the world. Joanna Tan delivers the story behind a hallowed Singapore institution.
Vaccinating a Nation
The history of vaccination in Singapore goes back to the days of William Farquhar. Ong Eng Chuan provides an overview of vaccination efforts to prevent epidemics from breaking out here.
Life in a Time of COVID-19
Janice Loo explains the National Library’s crowdsourcing efforts to document the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Plague Fighter: Dr Wu Lien-Teh and His Work
The Penang-born doctor helped eradicate the deadly Manchurian pneumonic plague of 1910 and pushed for the use of face masks to prevent its spread. Kevin Y.L. Tan documents his life and work.
Cholera in 19th-century Singapore
The colony experienced its first cholera outbreak in 1841, and several epidemics in the decades thereafter. Bonny Tan examines how the battle against this deadly illness was won.
Mad Dogs and Englishmen: Rabies in 19th-century Singapore
Fears of the deadly disease here led to more than 22,000 dogs being killed during the 1890s. **Timothy P. Barnard** sniffs out the details of this long-forgotten episode.
Leprosy: A Story of Suffering, But Also of Hope
People struck with leprosy were shunned and forced to live in isolation at the Trafalgar Home in Yio Chu Kang. Danielle Lim tracks the history of this disfiguring disease in Singapore.
Doctor, Doctor!: Singapore’s Medical Services
Milestones in Singapore’s medical scene – among other subjects – are captured through fascinating oral history narratives in a new book written by Cheong Suk-Wai and published by the National Archives of Singapore.
Magic or Medicine? Malay Healing Practices
Is traditional Malay medicine based on superstition and folklore or grounded in scientific evidence? Nadirah Norruddin uncovers the varying perceptions of Malay medicine in colonial Malaya.
“The German Medicine Deity”: Singapore’s Early Pharmacies
Timothy Pwee charts the history of Singapore’s first Western-style pharmacies through old receipts and documents from the National Library’s Koh Seow Chuan Collection.
从馆藏文献资料认识中医药在新加坡 的历史与发展 (Traditional Chinese Medicine in Singapore)
Traditional Chinese medicine in Singapore has a history that goes back to more than a century. Vicky Gao traces its development through the National Library’s collection.
Angels in White: Early Nursing in Singapore
In the 1820s, some “nurses” in Singapore were actually chained convicts. Pattarin Kusolpalin chronicles the history of nursing from 1819 until Independence.
Singapore Men of Science and Medicine in China (1911–1949)
Wayne Soon sheds light on the enduring and underrated legacy of Overseas Chinese doctors such as Lim Boon Keng and Robert Lim on China’s medical institutions.
