Gustav Eckstein was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

medical doctor, writer,

scientist A scientist is a person who conducts Scientific method, scientific research to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, ...

, teacher and

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

Biography

Eckstein was born on 26 October 1890 in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, USA. Some of his books included *''In Peace Japan Breeds War'' (1927) *''Noguchi'' (1931) - a biography on Hideyo Noguchi - Japanese-American microbiologist *''Lives'' (1932) *''Kettle'' (1933) *''Everyday Miracle'' (1934) *''Hokusai'' (1935) *''Canary'' (1936) * ''Christmas Eve'' (1938) *''Friends of Mine (containing Lives and Canary)'' (1942) *''The Pet Shop'' (1944) and *''The Body Has a Head'' (1969), a best-seller. He died in 1981.

In popular culture

The character of Prof. Metz in

Kaufman Kaufman or Kauffman may refer to: People * Kaufmann (surname) ''Includes Kaufman, Kauffman, Kauffmann'' Places * Kaufman, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Madison Count * Kaufman, Texas, a city in Kaufman County * Kaufman County, Texa ...

and Hart's 1939 play ''

The Man Who Came to Dinner ''The Man Who Came to Dinner'' is a comedy play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. It debuted on October 16, 1939, at the Music Box Theatre in New York City, where it ran until 1941, closing after 739 performances. It then enjoyed a number of N ...

'' is based on Eckstein, only with cockroaches in the place of canaries. In the 1993 film ''

Groundhog Day Groundhog Day ( pdc, Grund'sau dåk, , , ; Nova Scotia: Daks Day) is a popular North American tradition observed in the United States and Canada on February 2. It derives from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog emerges from ...

'', Phil Connors, the character played by Bill Murray, is seen reading the book ''The Body Has a Head''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eckstein, Gustav American science writers 1890 births 1981 deaths American scientists