ALLEN, DUDLEY PETER (25 Mar. 1852-6 Jan. 1915), was one of the founders of the CLEVELAND MEDICAL LIBRARY ASSN. and an eminent surgeon and professor. Born in Kinsman, Ohio, the son of Dudley Allen and grandson of PETER ALLEN†, both doctors, in 1862 he went to Oberlin to study, receiving his A.B. in 1875 and his M.D. from Harvard Medical School in 1879. He settled in Cleveland in 1883.

Allen was one of the first Cleveland physicians to confine his practice to surgery. He wrote articles on surgery and medical ethics, and a history of medicine in the WESTERN RESERVE. Allen taught surgery at Western Reserve Medical College from 1884-90; became Professor of Principles & Practice of Surgery in 1893; and professor emeritus of surgery in 1910 and senior professor of surgery in 1911.

A connoisseur of fine arts and expert in Chinese porcelain, Allen was one of the first trustees of the CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART. Oberlin, where he was a trustee from 1898 until his death, honored him with an M.A. in 1883 and an LL.D. in 1908. Allen was a founder of the Cleveland Medical Library Assoc. in 1894, served as president from 1903-06, and donated his entire library upon his retirement. The Allen Memorial Library building was a gift of his widow, Elisabeth Severance Prentiss, whom he married on 4 Aug. 1894. They had no children. Allen was also active in the Second Presbyterian Church. In 1910, he resigned all his positions and retired from practice.

Allen Memorial Library Archives.

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