Julius Mount Bleyer (16 March 1859 – 3 April 1915) was a New York doctor who specialized in
laryngology who took a keen interest in
medical jurisprudence. He studied the methods used for
capital punishment and as a member of a commission, was among the first to propose
lethal injection
Lethal injection is the practice of injecting one or more drugs into a person (typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium solution) for the express purpose of causing rapid death. The main application for this procedure is capital puni ...
s in 1888. He pointed out in ''The Medico-Legal Journal'', the problems with other methods of executing death sentences including decapitation and electrocution. Lethal injections were however not used until the early 1980s.
Bleyer was also a pioneer of
photofluoroscopy, a method of visualizing x-rays to observe the functioning of internal organs. He also introduced the idea of an
inhaler for delivering medication into the lungs and considered applications in laryngology that made use of sound recording instruments.
Early life and education
Julius Bleyer was born in
Pilsen,
Austria to Samuel and Sophia, who moved to the United States in 1868. He studied at the
University of Prague and obtained a medical degree in New York in 1883 from
Bellevue Medical College
Bellevue Hospital (officially NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue and formerly known as Bellevue Hospital Center) is a hospital in New York City and the oldest public hospital in the United States. One of the largest hospitals in the United States b ...
. He obtained an
LL.D. in 1896 and practiced in New York from 1883 until his death.
Bleyer was a specialist consultant for the Metropolitan Opera Company from 1888 and dealt with the
health of the throat. He served as a vice-president during an American congress on
tuberculosis and was a member of the New York Medico-Legal Society.
Personal life
Bleyer married Rose Florsheim in 1884.
References
Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bleyer, Julius Mount
American otolaryngologists
American people of Austrian descent
Lethal injection
American lawyers