#throwbackthursdays

The earliest example of combining medical ideals and business acumen is the teamwork of Dr. William Worrall Mayo and his wife Louise.

Mother Alfred Moes was a natural leader. Her strength of character often ran afoul of superiors who expected unquestioning obedience.

On February 2, 1851, Dr. William Worrall Mayo married Louise Abigail Wright. Unlike her immigrant spouse, Louise was of old pioneer American stock, having grown up in Jordan, New York, near Syracuse.

Although William Worrall Mayo would not become a full-time physician for several years, the timing of his arrival in New York City on August 22, 1846, was significant. Seven weeks later, on October 16, several physicians and a dentist in Boston witnessed the first public demonstration of ether anesthesia, a milestone in the evolution of surgery. W. W. Mayo and his sons would make surgery the focal point of their medical practice.

Many people in the founding generation of Mayo Clinic were immigrants or the children of immigrants. They brought diverse perspectives and life experiences, became loyal citizens of the United States, and created an entirely new way to care for patients and advance medical science.

Learn how a fatherless boy became the student of a famous scientist—and how John Dalton’s values are part of Mayo Clinic today.

Along with Dr. William Worrall Mayo, another key figure in the early history of Mayo Clinic is Mother Alfred Moes (1828–1899). She was born Maria Moes on Oct. 28, 1828. Maria took the name Sister Alfred when she entered religious life and became Mother Alfred as the head of the two congregations she founded. Mother Alfred Moes established Saint Marys Hospital.

William Worrall Mayo was baptized in the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Eccles Parish, in the village of Salford, England, on October 24, 1819, nearly five months after his birth.

William Worrall Mayo was born in Salford, near Manchester, England, on May 31. Little is known about his family background, although there are accounts of physicians and scientists among his ancestors.

As someone famous famously wrote, the course of true love never did run smooth. The same can be said of history, says Chris Boes, M.D., a neurologist at Mayo Clinic's Rochester campus. That complicated journey is just one of the reasons Dr. Boes finds history so fascinating.

One of the most distinctive aspects of Mayo Clinic is the close collaboration between physician leaders and administrative colleagues—each bringing unique skills to serve patients and advance medical science. This tradition dates to the earliest years of Mayo Clinic and continues today. Watch this video to see Mayo's 150-year history of physician leaders and their administrative colleagues.

Last year, BMJ published an article challenging what has been considered an indisputable truth for 40 years: When it comes to heart health, vegetable fats beat animal fats. But new analysis of old data points to a different (and delicious) truth. Robert Frantz, M.D., a cardiologist at Mayo Clinic, is one of the authors of the BMJ article. He's also the link between the original research and the new analysis. His father, Ivan Frantz, M.D., spearheaded a major arm of the study that supported the earlier belief. For the younger Dr. Frantz, the paper was both a professional and personal exercise.

In 1939, in Rochester, Minnesota, a young man named Robert Tierney was playing second base for the city's American Legion baseball team when he crossed paths with another of the game's all-time greats: The Iron Horse himself, Lou Gehrig.