Isaac Arthur Abt (1867–1955) was an American pediatrician and the first president of the

American Academy of Pediatrics The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is an American professional association of pediatricians, headquartered in Itasca, Illinois. It maintains its Department of Federal Affairs office in Washington, D.C. Background The Academy was founded ...

. He was one of the first U.S. physicians to specialize in pediatrics and he authored an influential textbook in the first part of the 20th century.

Biography

Abt was born on December 18, 1867, to Levi and Henrietta Hart Abt in Wilmington, Will County, Illinois. He was a twin; the twins had two older brothers and three younger sisters. Abt's parents were German immigrants who had come to the United States almost 20 years before Isaac's birth. His father was a grocery store owner and postmaster. As a small child, Abt lost a sister to

diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild clinical course, but in some outbreaks more than 10% of those diagnosed with the disease may die. Signs and s ...

and a cousin to

scarlet fever Scarlet fever, also known as Scarlatina, is an infectious disease caused by ''Streptococcus pyogenes'' a Group A streptococcus (GAS). The infection is a type of Group A streptococcal infection (Group A strep). It most commonly affects childr ...

, which impacted his interest in medicine. As a teenager, Abt worked in a pharmacy, where his interest in medicine intensified. He attended West Division High School in Chicago, then went to

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

. At Johns Hopkins, Abt received guidance from pathologist

William H. Welch William Henry Welch (April 8, 1850 – April 30, 1934) was an American physician, pathologist, bacteriologist, and medical-school administrator. He was one of the "Big Four" founding professors at the Johns Hopkins Hospital.Chicago Medical College (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. Abt completed an internship at

Michael Reese Hospital Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center was an American hospital located in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1881, Michael Reese Hospital was a major research and teaching hospital and one of the oldest and largest ...

. After that year, Abt went to Europe for postgraduate study at the same time as several of his medical school classmates, including

Joseph DeLee Joseph Bolivar DeLee (October 28, 1869 – April 2, 1942)"Joseph Bolivar DeLee." ''Dictionary of American Biography''. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1973. was an American physician who became known as the father of modern obstetrics. DeLee f ...

. Abt worked with highly regarded physicians and scientists in Europe, including

Theodor Escherich Theodor Escherich (; 29 November 1857 – 15 February 1911) was a Germans, German-Austrians, Austrian pediatrics, pediatrician and a professor at universities in University of Graz, Graz and University of Vienna, Vienna. He discovered and de ...

and

Otto Heubner Johann Otto Leonhard Heubner (January 21, 1843 – October 17, 1926) was a German internist and pediatrician who was a native of Mühltroff. He studied medicine at the University of Leipzig, and in 1867 became an assistant to Carl Reinhold Aug ...

. He then worked at Rush Medical College and Northwestern University. He was heavily involved in the establishment of Sarah Morris Children's Hospital. In 1897, he married a nurse from Michael Reese Hospital named Lina Rosenberg. They lived on Grand Avenue in Chicago, in an apartment above their friend

Albert Henry Loeb Albert Henry Loeb (February 18, 1868 – October 27, 1924) was a Chicago attorney and the former vice president and treasurer of Sears, Roebuck and Co. Loeb was the brother of Jacob Loeb, the former president of the Chicago Board of Education and ...

, who was on his way to becoming a prominent attorney. Abt had two children, Arthur and Lawrence. Abt served as president for several medical and scientific organizations, including the American Association for Teachers of the Diseases of Children, the American Pediatric Society and the Chicago Medical Society. He was the founding president of the

in 1931. He died at his home in Chicago on November 22, 1955. As of 2014, the medical school at Northwestern awards a named professorship in his honor, the Isaac A. Abt, MD, Professor of Kidney Diseases.

Works

*Abt, Isaac A. (1944). ''Baby Doctor''. London: Whittlesey House.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abt, Isaac Arthur 1867 births 1955 deaths American pediatricians People from Wilmington, Will County, Illinois Rush University faculty Northwestern University faculty American people of German descent