American University of Beirut
Located in Beirut, Lebanon, The American University of Beirut (AUB) was founded in 1866 as a private, independent, non-sectarian institution of higher learning, functioning under a charter from the State of New York. AUB has grown from 16 students in a rented house to a major university with over 6,900 students located on a 73-acre campus overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.
Armenian Doctors Memorial
In the early evening of June 26, 1923, a great congregation of doctors and pharmacists gathered in the upper foyer of West Hall at the American University of Beirut (until 1920 it was called the Syrian Protestant College) to witness the unveiling of a tablet inscribed with the names of fellow AUB medical alumni who perished in the course of World War I.
This tablet, a temporary construction of walnut wood, was replaced three years later with a permanent bronze memorial. During the second installation ceremony, held on February 9, 1926, Dr. Najib Ardati, Clinical Professor of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, and Dr. E. St. John Ward, Dean of the Medical School, gave an compelling speech on the spirit of devotion and self-sacrifice that the departed alumni had demonstrated through the course of their medical careers and in their military service.
During the Lebanese civil strife in 1976, the bronze memorial tablet was moved to the university's College Hall to protect it from damage and the possibility of theft.. In 1991, when an explosion leveled College Hall, the tablet was lost.
36 years after its removal from West Hall, on November 1 a reconstructed tablet was permanently installed and displayed in its original home, in commemoration of AUB medical doctors who gave their lives so that others can live in a more just and peaceful world. Where it can be remembered that these doctors with their sacrifice also saved the college at that time from closure, as said by Dr. Bayard Dodge, president of AUB (1923-1948).
See full article and story of the doctors here: Memorial reopened to Beirut-educated doctors who perished in WWI
External Links
- http://wwwlb.aub.edu.lb - official website
- Online Alumni Magazine - news on many of the alumni