Malford W. Thewlis

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]

Malford W. Thewlis
Born	(1863-10-11)October 11, 1863 Wakefield, Rhode Island
Died	June 3, 1956(1956-06-03) (aged 66) Rhode Island, United States
Alma mater	Bowdoin Medical School of Maine
Occupation	physician

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]

Publications

• Malford W. Thewlis (1919) Geriatrics-- a treatise on senile conditions, diseases of advanced life, and care of the aged C. V. Mosby (St Louis)
• Malford W. Thewlis (1939) Preclinical medicine; preclinical states and prevention of disease Williams & Wilkins
• Malford W. Thewlis (1941) The Care of the Aged C. V. Mosby (St Louis)
• Malford W. Thewlis & Isabella Clark Swezy (1954) Handwriting and the Emotions American Graphological Society

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. Journal of the American Medical Association vol 272 (1994) p 1694-7 "Presidential Disability and the Twenty-fifth Amendment"
4. 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. 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."