Malford W. Thewlis

Malford W. Thewlis
Born(1863-10-11)October 11, 1863
Wakefield, Rhode Island
DiedJune 3, 1956(1956-06-03) (aged 66)
Rhode Island, United States
Alma materBowdoin Medical School of Maine
Occupationphysician

Malford Wilcox Thewlis (December 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.[5][6] He married Miss Christiane Cherfils (1895 – 1978[7]) of Paris, France on December 10, 1919, and they had a son, Harold, who became a professor of politics at University of Rhode Island.[8] 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.[9] He authored "The Care of the Aged: Geriatrics", first published in 1919. Thewlis was also an accomplished amateur magician,[10] and a member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians:[4] he recommended the practice of conjuring tricks to keep the mind and hands supple.[11] He died on June 3, 1956, and was cremated.[7]

  1. ^ Journal of the American Geriatrics Society[permanent dead link] 55 (6) 813 "American Geriatrics Society Turns 65"
  2. ^ Annual Malford Thewlis Lecture in Gerontology and Geriatrics
  3. ^ Journal of the American Medical Association vol 272 (1994) p 1694-7 "Presidential Disability and the Twenty-fifth Amendment"
  4. ^ a b Institute for Research in Biography, Inc. (1952) American Men of Medicine
  5. ^ Journal of the American Medical Association vol 166 (Sep 1956) p 221 "Deaths"
  6. ^ The American Physician and Surgeon Blue Book: A Distinct Clyclopedia of 1919
  7. ^ a b Rhode Island Historical Cemeteries Transcription Project
  8. ^ Journal of the American Medical Association vol 74 (1920) p 263 "Marriages"
  9. ^ T. H. Howell (1988) Age and Ageing vol 17 pp 137-138 "Nascher writes about Geriatrics".
  10. ^ Medical Times (1956) Volume 82, Issue 2, p 484 "Malford W. Thewlis"
  11. ^ 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."