Maud H. Mellish-Wilson

Maud Mellish-Wilson (February 14, 1862 - November 6, 1933) was a pioneer in medical communication who set up Mayo Clinic's first library, started The Collected Papers of Mayo Clinic which is now Mayo Clinic Proceedings, and was considered by the Mayo brothers to be one of the founders of Mayo Clinic.

Early life and education Mellish-Wilson was born Annie Maud Headline. She was the youngest of seven children to be born to Peter and Sarah Moses Headline, Swedish immigrants, and she lived in a log cabin near Faribault. Her parents had emigrated from Sweden in 1851, and moved from Chicago to St. Charles, Illinois and then Faribault following a cholera outbreak in 1855.

She wanted to be a doctor, but women were not allowed in medical school at the time and she could not afford it. She attended the Illinois Training School for Nurses in Chicago where she audited lectures at Rush Medical School. At Rush, she became close with the prominent doctors Moses Gunn at Rush and Charles Parkes at Augustana Hospital.

After graduating in 1887, Mellish-Wilson worked for the Maurice Porter Memorial Hospital for Children, eventually becoming superintendent. She married Dr. Ernest J. Mellish, a young surgeon at Rush, in 1889. Ernest had tuberculosis and struggled with his health throughout his life. They moved to Ishpeming, Michigan where they worked in partnership as a surgeon and surgical assistant. During this time, Mellish-Wilson dropped her first name, Annie, and went as Maud. In 1907, at age 45, Mellish-Wilson joined the clinic.

In 1919, Mellish-Wilson and her division began to prepare daily summaries of in-house meetings for the large Clinic staff called The Clinic Bulletin. This became the Proceedings of the Staff Meetings of the Mayo Clinic in 1927, and became Mayo Clinic Proceedings in 1964.

A 30-minute documentary was made on Melllish-Wilson's life.