Malford W. Thewlis

Malford Wilcox Thewlis (Dec 4, 1889 – June 3, 1956) was an American physician and pioneer of gerontology, who co-founded the American Geriatrics Society in 1942.[1] He is commemorated by the annual Thewlis Lecture on Gerontology and Geriatrics, established at the University of Rhode Island.[2] As a neuropsychiatrist, he attended US President Woodrow Wilson, following a stroke in 1919.[3]

Thewlis was born on December 4, 1889 in Wakefield, Rhode Island, the son of James E. Thewlis and Viola (née Wilcox),[4] and received his MD from the Bowdoin Medical School of Maine in 1911.[3][5] He married Miss Christiane Cherfils (1895 – 1978[6]) of Paris, France on December 10, 1919, and they had a son, Harold, who became a professor of politics at University of Rhode Island.[7] Thewlis was one of the few physicians to take note of Ignatz Leo Nascher's 1914 book, Geriatrics: The Diseases of Old Age and Their Treatment, and devoted his life's work to care of the elderly and research into the diseases of old age.[8] He authored "The Care of the Aged: Geriatrics", first published in 1919. Thewlis was also an accomplished amateur magician,[9] and a member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians:[4] he recommended the practice of conjuring tricks to keep the mind and hands supple.[10] He died on June 3, 1956 and was cremated.[6]

Publications

References

  1. ↑ Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 55 (6) 813 "American Geriatrics Society Turns 65"
  2. ↑ Annual Malford Thewlis Lecture in Gerontology and Geriatrics
  3. 1 2 Journal of the American Medical Association vol 272 (1994) p 1694-7 "Presidential Disability and the Twenty-fifth Amendment"
  4. 1 2 Institute for Research in Biography, Inc. (1952) American Men of Medicine
  5. ↑ The American Physician and Surgeon Blue Book: A Distinct Clyclopedia of 1919
  6. 1 2 Rhode Island Historical Cemeteries Transcription Project
  7. ↑ Journal of the American Medical Association vol 74 (1920) p 263 "Marriages"
  8. ↑ T. H. Howell (1988) Age and Ageing vol 17 pp 137-138 "Nascher writes about Geriatrics".
  9. ↑ Medical Times (1956) Volume 82, Issue 2, p 484 "Malford W. Thewlis"
  10. ↑ M. W. Thewlis (1946) Care of the Aged, p 46 "Magic is an interesting hobby. ....Practice keeps the would-be magician mentally awake, his hands and fingers supple."
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