Arno David Gurewitsch (1902–1974) was a medical doctor and medical expert whose career spread across Germany, Israel, and the United States. He completed his medical degree at the

University of Basel The University of Basel (Latin: ''Universitas Basiliensis'', German: ''Universität Basel'') is a university in Basel, Switzerland. Founded on 4 April 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest surviving universit ...

and went to work at the Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem. He moved to the United States on a fellowship. Subsequently, Gurewitsch taught and practiced medicine at Columbia‐Presbyterian Medical Center, where he specialized on

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...

. Later, Gurewitsch became an advisor to the

Department of Health, Education, and Welfare The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...

and the first medical director at the United Nations. After the death of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Gurewitsch became a close friend of

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four ...

, serving as the former First Lady's personal doctor. Gurewitsch and Roosevelt traveled together to India, Hong Kong, Thailand, Israel, France, the Soviet Union, and other countries, sometimes photographing her with international leaders. Roosevelt helped to purchase Gurewitsch's townhouse home at East 60th Street in the

Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 96th Street to the north, the East River to the east, 59th Street to the south, and Central Park/Fifth Avenue to the wes ...

of Manhattan, where Roosevelt also lived. Gurewitsch and his family were strongly influenced by Eleanor Roosevelt. Gurewitsch published his recollections of Roosevelt in ''Eleanor Roosevelt: Her Day, a Personal Album'' (Quadrangle Press, 1974). His wife, Edna Gurewitsch, also published an account in ''Kindred Souls: The Devoted Friendship of Eleanor Roosevelt and Dr. David Gurewitsch'' (St. Martin Press, 2002). Gurewitsch's widow later described her late husband's relationship with Eleanor Roosevelt:

She could love this man because he could be trusted to keep within the bounds of an idealized love. It was idealistic on both sides, though David's did not include romantic fantasy. (Mrs. Roosevelt inscribed a photograph of herself as a young woman “To David, From a Girl He Never Knew.”) She could express her feelings freely because she knew the setting was safe. She said in a letter that although she never forgot the difference in their ages, she would like David to call her by her first name. He could not, and always spoke and referred to her as “Mrs. Roosevelt.” ... The wedding could not have been easy for her. I believe she thought she would lose him. She needn’t have worried. I loved her, and he respected their confidences. The relationship changed but remained close differently.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gurewitsch, Arno David American neurologists Rehabilitation physicians Jewish physicians Swiss neurologists Physicians from New York City Russian Jews 1902 births 1974 deaths 20th-century American physicians German neurologists Swiss emigrants to the United States University of Basel alumni