Carl Looft (né Knutsen; 9 February 1863 – 10 April 1943) was a Norwegian physician, and among the first

pediatrician Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until the ...

s in Norway. He was born in Bærum to physician Carl August Knutsen and Margery Henriette Caroline Louise Thaulow, and was a grandson of

Heinrich Arnold Thaulow Heinrich Arnold Thaulow (10 June 1808 – 19 August 1894) was a physician known for the introduction of balneotherapy in Norway. Thaulow founded Sandefjord Spa in Sandefjord in 1837. He was Sandefjord's first physician. He also made the first ...

. In 1892 he married Sofie Bolette Gran. Looft graduated as

cand.med. Candidate of Medicine ( la, candidatus medicinae (male), ''candidata medicinae'' (female), abbreviated cand. med.) is an academic degree awarded in Denmark, Iceland, and Norway following a six-year medical school education. Medical students in ...

in 1889. His thesis from 1897 was a treatment of mental disability among children. From 1890 to 1940 he practiced as pediatrician in Bergen. In addition to his work as physician, he was responsible for a series of epidemiological investigations among children. Among his conclusions was that appropriate nutrition during pregnancy and infancy was an important factor for the mental development of the children.

References

1863 births 1943 deaths People from Bærum Norwegian pediatricians {{norway-bio-stub