Henry Ernest Sigerist (7 April 1891 – 17 March 1957) was a Swiss medical historian and proponent of universal health care.Henry Ernest Sigerist
Encyclopædia Britannica

Career

After graduating with an M.D. at the University of Zurich in 1917, Sigerist devoted himself to the study of the history of medicine. ''Socialized Medicine in the Soviet Union'' (1937), and ''History of Medicine'' were among his most important works. He emerged as a major spokesman for " compulsory health insurance". From 1932 to 1947 he was director at the Johns Hopkins University Institute of History of Medicine. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1945 and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1951. He received financial aid from the Rockefeller Institute. He attacked the American Medical Association because of its conflicting views on socialized medicine. Dr. Sigerist was influential in the creation of socialized medicine in Canada, and made four trips to Canada in the 1930s and 1940s at the invitation of various medical groups to speak on this topic. Under his influence, Saskatchewan, a Canadian province, introduced state-funded medical and hospital care for pensioners, people on welfare and cancer patients after being hired to write a report in 1944 by Tommy Douglas, the

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

of the province representing the

Co-operative Commonwealth Federation The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; french: Fédération du Commonwealth Coopératif, FCC); from 1955 the Social Democratic Party of Canada (''french: Parti social démocratique du Canada''), was a federal democratic socialism, democra ...

. This was the basis for the eventual adoption of government-funded health care in all of Canada.

Obituaries and influence

Sigerist died in 1957, and his passing was mourned among many in the medical community, although his views on socialized medicine were often glossed over in obituaries in national newspapers. Although Sigerist's influence waned during the mid-20th century, he has slowly become an important figure again in medical history. In 1999 an article in Hopkins Medical News described his view that "the entire history of medicine was spiraling toward one inevitable end: socialized medicine", and said that "he invested all his enthusiasm on the wrong horse — the Soviet Union". An organization of medical historians have named themselves the Sigerist Circle, and books such as ''Making Medical History: The Life and Times of Henry E. Sigerist'' by Theodore M. Brown and

Elizabeth Fee Elizabeth Fee (December 11, 1946 – October 17, 2018), also known as Liz Fee, was a historian of science, medicine and health. She was the Chief of the United States National Library of Medicine History of Medicine Division. Early life and edu ...

have begun to reintroduce Sigerist's legacy to the world.Fee, Elizabeth and Brown, Theodore M. (1997) ''The Life and Times of Henry E. Sigerist.'' Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

References

External links

* Henry Ernest Sigerist papers (MS 788). Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library. *
Henry E. Sigerist: Medical Historian and Social Visionary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sigerist, Henry E Swiss medical historians Physicians from Paris 1891 births 1957 deaths Johns Hopkins University faculty Corresponding Fellows of the Medieval Academy of America Members of the American Philosophical Society