This exhibit is sponsored by the University Archives, Department of Special Collections, The Gelman Library. It chronicles the life of and medical career of Dr. Janet G. Travell (1901-1997), whose papers were donated to the library in 1998 by her daughters, Virginia Powell Street and Janet Powell Pinci.
Dr. Travell was a distinguished member of the medical community, serving as Personal Physician to two United States Presidents: John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson (and the first woman to hold the post.) She was also renowned as an expert on myofascial pain - a term used to describe pain and dysfunction of skeletal muscles - and pioneered numerous techniques for dealing with chronic pain. Dr. Travell co-authored, with David G. Simons, M.D., the acclaimed two-volume textbook Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction. The Trigger Point Manual.
Dr. Travell served on the faculty of The George Washington University School of Medicine and University Hospital as Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine from 1961-1970, Emeritus Clinical Professor of Medicine from 1970-1988, and was made an Honorary Clinical Professor of Medicine in 1988. She remained an active figure up until her death at the age of ninety-five, writing, giving lectures, and attending conferences.
On display are nearly 150 items from the Janet Travell Papers, including letters, photographs, articles, memorabilia and artifacts, which give the viewer a hint of the rich and varied life this remarkable woman led. Special emphasis is placed on her years as White House physician to Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson (1961-1965), and her pioneering work in the field of myofascial pain.
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Dr. Travell and her sister in 1908 Dr. Travell's fascination for living things and her study of little insects, worms, and frogs as a child would later help her master the science of medicine. "Just a few minutes ago Virginia [Dr. Travell's sister] called me out and showed me a big night crawler partly out of his hole. I pulled it out of the hole. She thought it was something wonderful." This is an excerpt from Dr. Travell's letter to her father, August 29, 1911. |
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Dr. Travell's mother, Janet Davidson Travell "The children are perfectly lovely. Bobby looks like a big doll just stepped down out of a shop window and Virginia is a joy - She is so good natured and happy." This is an excerpt from a letter, describing their children, written to Dr. Travell's father from her mother. "Bobby" was Dr. Travell's nickname. |
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Dr. Travell as Ambulance Surgeon, New York Hospital, 1927 While Dr. Travell was an intern and ambulance doctor at New York Hospital she wrote to Jack Powell (her future husband), "Last night I went dancing…until two, and I tumbled into bed about three…It would have been delightful if you could have been there and if we could have danced together. I was in the mood for dancing, and the music was irresistible, alluring, slow and full of rhythm." |
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Janet's Engagement Clipping Dr. Travell met John Powell, February 22, 1927, at a dance held by the New York Southern Society on the roof of the Hotel Astor. They danced the entire night away and it was truly love at first sight. John came from North Carolina but was working at a desk job in New York. The couple corresponded for two years, their love growing as time went by. |
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Wedding Day, June 6, 1929, Newspaper Clipping Janet Travell and John Powell married after a two-year courtship. |
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Sports Award Buffet Dr. Travell is at a Sports Award Buffet in the lounge of the George Washinton University's Lisner Auditorium, May 9, 1961. She spoke to more than 100 young women participating in the Sports Award Buffet program sponsored by the Women's Athletic Association and the Inter-sorority Athletic Board. |
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At the Japanese Embassy "Celebrating Japan's National Holiday, a reception at the Japanese Embassy draws a throng of notables, including the President's physician, Dr. Janet Travell, seen here shaking hands with the Japanese Ambassador Koichiro Asakai. In the center is Ellis, the suave major-domo who knows, and is known by, all inveterate Capital party goers." This is an excerpt from The Diplomat, June 1961. |
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An After Dinner Talk with Dr. Travell, (c.1980) "It's very hard to teach doctors that you look at every single person as something entirely individual and unique. You will then solve problems and you find that you leave your mind open and you get clues and cues - listening, watching, looking, and you say, 'Oh my goodness, I haven't seen that in ages!" |
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Modern Medicine Dr. Travell appeared on the cover of Modern Medicine, May 29, 1961. |
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Memorial Program, August 15, 1997 The memorial service for Dr. Travell was held in St. John's Chapel inside the Washington National Cathedral. |