 |
| Osler at 60 (Public Domain) |
Back in 1905 when famed physician William Osler was 55 years of age, he made a rather shocking farewell speech to Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Osler not only contended that men over 60 should be made to retire (due to their "uselessness"), but he also hinted (joked?) that these retirees should be chloroformed (euthanized) relatively soon after that.
According to Dr. Laura Davidow Hirshbein, Osler sprinkled this speech with "scientific theories about the finite qualities of life energy," and then focused upon historical achievements that were made by younger men.
Although Osler was most likely kidding about the euthanasia suggestion, he seemed quite serious about the enforced retirement. This speech was bound to ruffle some feathers, and it certainly did.
In fact, Osler's remarks set off "a storm of controversy" from Atlantic to Pacific. He was then called everything "heartless" to "a
crank."
However, there was one silver lining from this whole affair. Newspapers
across the country began reporting on "innumerable examples of still-capable older men" in order to disprove Osler's allegations.
Resources
http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/83267/LDH?sequence=1
Copyright December 29, 2013 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment