William Alanson White
Encyclopedia
William Alanson White was an American
neurologist
and psychiatrist
.
, N. Y.
, studied at Cornell
from 1885 to 1889, and two years later graduated from the Long Island College Hospital
. For nine years he was an assistant physician
at the Binghamton (N. Y.)
State Hospital, and from 1903 superintendent of the Government Hospital for the Insane
at Washington
. In the same year he accepted the post of professor
of nervous and mental disease
s at Georgetown University
, and in 1904 a similar chair
at George Washington University
, lecturing besides at the Army Medical School
. He published Mental Mechanisms (1911) and Outlines of Psychiatry (fifth edition, revised, 1915), and also did important work in collaboration with Smith Ely Jelliffe
.
White was president of the American Psychopathological Society
in 1922, of the American Psychiatric Association
in 1924-25, and of the American Psychoanalytical Society in 1928.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
neurologist
Neurology
Neurology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the nervous system. Specifically, it deals with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of disease involving the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems, including their coverings, blood vessels, and all effector tissue,...
and psychiatrist
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
.
Biography
He was born in BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, N. Y.
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, studied at Cornell
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
from 1885 to 1889, and two years later graduated from the Long Island College Hospital
Long Island College Hospital
Long Island College Hospital is a teaching hospital situated at Hicks and Amity Streets in Cobble Hill section of Brooklyn, New York.Founded in 1858, the hospital has 506 beds. In 1860 it introduced the practice of bedside teaching and it later became the first U.S. hospital to use stethoscopes...
. For nine years he was an assistant physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
at the Binghamton (N. Y.)
Binghamton, New York
Binghamton is a city in the Southern Tier of New York in the United States. It is near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the confluence of the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers...
State Hospital, and from 1903 superintendent of the Government Hospital for the Insane
St. Elizabeths Hospital
St. Elizabeths Hospital is a psychiatric hospital operated by the District of Columbia Department of Mental Health. It was the first large-scale, federally-run psychiatric hospital in the United States. Housing several thousand patients at its peak, St. Elizabeths had a fully functioning...
at Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. In the same year he accepted the post of professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of nervous and mental disease
Mental illness
A mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern generally associated with subjective distress or disability that occurs in an individual, and which is not a part of normal development or culture. Such a disorder may consist of a combination of affective, behavioural,...
s at Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
, and in 1904 a similar chair
Chair (official)
The chairman is the highest officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office is typically elected or appointed by the members of the group. The chairman presides over meetings of the assembled group and conducts its business in an...
at George Washington University
George Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
, lecturing besides at the Army Medical School
Walter Reed Army Medical Center
The Walter Reed Army Medical Center was the United States Army's flagship medical center until 2011. Located on 113 acres in Washington, D.C., it served more than 150,000 active and retired personnel from all branches of the military...
. He published Mental Mechanisms (1911) and Outlines of Psychiatry (fifth edition, revised, 1915), and also did important work in collaboration with Smith Ely Jelliffe
Smith Ely Jelliffe
Smith Ely Jelliffe . American neurologist, psychiatrist, and psychoanalyst who lived and practiced in New York City nearly his entire life. Originally trained in botany and pharmacy, Jelliffe switched first to neurology in the mid-1890s then to psychiatry, neuropsychiatry, and ultimately to...
.
White was president of the American Psychopathological Society
American Psychopathological Association
The American Psychopathological Association is an organization, "devoted to the scientific investigation of disordered human behavior, and its biological and psychosocial substrates."The association was founded in 1910...
in 1922, of the American Psychiatric Association
American Psychiatric Association
The American Psychiatric Association is the main professional organization of psychiatrists and trainee psychiatrists in the United States, and the most influential worldwide. Its some 38,000 members are mainly American but some are international...
in 1924-25, and of the American Psychoanalytical Society in 1928.