Little is known about Dr Richard Michels, save for the information provided by the depositor, a niece, and that which is contained in the collection itself. Dr Richard Michels was born in 1873 in Essen and settled in Duesseldorf in 1899. The first couple of years that he was nominally resident in Duesseldorf, he spent as a ship's doctor on a number of vessels, sailing all over the world. Thus the bulk of this collection contains letters sent to his mother and journals whilst travelling. He came to London in 1939 where he became a doctor specializing in mental disorders and nervous diseases. He made a name for himself by developing the anti-depressant Lubrokal, which was also used for epilepsy. He was married late in life to the famous pianist, Irma Pulvermann, also from Duesseldorf, with whom he visited her home city every year.
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This collection consists of correspondence and journals of Richard Michels, mostly whilst on board a variety of ships in his capacity as ship's doctor c1900; some photographs; and typescript accounts of Kempen, Posen by a relative on his wife's side of the family. The correspondence consists of folders of loose letters and bound volumes of letterbooks and journals. All of it is from Richard Michels to his mother.
Dr Richard Michels: personal papers