Voting Station

Harvey Cushing

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Doctor

The Resume

    (April 8, 1869-October 7, 1939)
    Born in Cleveland, Ohio
    Pioneering brain surgeon
    Professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School
    First to describe Cushing's disease, a malfunction of the pituitary gland
    Awarded the Lister Medal for contributions to surgery (1930)
    Known as 'the father of modern neurosurgery'
    Father of Babe Paley

Why he might be annoying:

    He was a heavy smoker.
    One of his secretaries said that the pituitary gland was his 'first and only true love.'
    He was described as egotistical and arrogant, with a sharp tongue. (Basically, a real-life Gregory House.)
    He refused to hire a third Jew for his medical staff, saying, 'I have no objection to Hebrews, but I do not like too many of them all at once.'

Why he might not be annoying:

    During his senior year at Yale, he was captain of the baseball team.
    He served in the Army Medical Corps during World War I.
    He reduced mortality rates in neurosurgery from over 50% to 10%.
    He introduced the sphygmomanometer (blood pressure gage) from Europe to the US.
    Despite being brusque with colleagues, he had a great bedside manner, even going so far as to personally prepare pre-operation breakfasts for his patients.
    He won a Pulitzer Prize for writing a biography of his mentor and fellow surgeon Sir William Osler (1926).

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 4 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 23 Votes: 56.52% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 18 Votes: 55.56% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 15 Votes: 53.33% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 5 Votes: 20.0% Annoying