Leonard Keene Hirshberg (January 9, 1877 – October 1, 1969) was an American physician and popular medical writer who was convicted of mail fraud.

Early life and education

Hirshberg was born in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family. He earned his

M.D. Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. ...

from

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

in 1902.

Writing career

He had a successful career as a health writer, with his articles appearing in mainstream medical columns and journals. With

H. L. Mencken Henry Louis Mencken (September 12, 1880 – January 29, 1956) was an American journalist, essayist, satirist, cultural critic, and scholar of American English. He commented widely on the social scene, literature, music, prominent politicians, ...

as writer, he collaborated on a series of baby care articles for the magazine ''

The Delineator ''The Delineator'' was an American women's magazine of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, founded by the Butterick Publishing Company in 1869 under the name ''The Metropolitan Monthly.'' Its name was changed in 1875. The magazine was publis ...

'' that were published as ''What You Ought to Know About Your Baby'' (1910). The first edition of the book listed only Hirshberg as author.Williams, Robert H. (December 26, 1989)
"'Pure Mencken' On Child Care"
''The Washington Post''. According to Mencken, at least some of Hirshberg's other magazine articles were also written by Mencken with Hirshberg providing the information. In 1913, he resigned from the Baltimore County Medical Society while under investigation for magazine articles that stated incorrectly that cures had been discovered for

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

and

leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve damag ...

. Hirshberg was also a

skeptic Skepticism, also spelled scepticism, is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the ...

. He was highly critical of the claims of the medium

Eusapia Palladino Eusapia Palladino (alternative spelling: ''Paladino''; 21 January 1854 – 16 May 1918) was an Italian Spiritualist physical medium. She claimed extraordinary powers such as the ability to levitate tables, communicate with the dead through ...

Fraud and imprisonment

Around 1920, Hirshberg moved to New York, where he became active as a stock broker.Poitras p. 6. In September 1922, he was accused of defrauding investors of one million dollars in a

mail fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical or electronic mail system to defraud another, and are federal crimes there. Jurisdiction is claimed by the federal government if the illegal activity ...

investment scam."Dr. Hirshberg Paroled From Atlanta Prison"
'' The Gazette Times''. July 21, 1925. p. 1. (New York Times News Service). He was convicted and was imprisoned in the federal prison at

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

from May 1923 to June 1925.

Later life

While in prison, Hirshberg continued to write untruthful articles. In December 1923, the ''

New York World The ''New York World'' was a newspaper published in New York City from 1860 until 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers. It was a leading national voice of the Democratic Party. From 1883 to 1911 under pub ...

'' reported that he claimed to have developed a means to eradicate

boll weevil The boll weevil (''Anthonomus grandis'') is a beetle that feeds on cotton buds and flowers. Thought to be native to Central Mexico, it migrated into the United States from Mexico in the late 19th century and had infested all U.S. cotton-growin ...

s, and was researching abnormal psychology by observing his fellow prisoners. He lost his medical license in 1926 and after that promoted quack remedies. Since the early 1920s, he had had a home in Long Beach, New York, where he moved permanently in about 1945. He wrote a weekly column, ''The Laughable World'', first in local newspapers and from 1955 privately published, and in his eighties received a weekly stipend from the Long Beach chamber of commerce as a writer.Poitras pp. 6–7.

Personal life and death

Hirshberg and his wife had two children. When he moved to New York, he took with him a 15-year-old girl, as reported by the ''

Baltimore American The ''Baltimore News-American'' was a broadsheet newspaper published in downtown Baltimore, Maryland until May 27, 1986. It had a continuous lineage (in various forms) of more than 200 years. For much of the mid-20th century, it had the largest ...

'' when his wife sued him for abandonment in 1923. They were divorced, and he apparently married his girlfriend in 1926.

Fulton Oursler Charles Fulton Oursler (January 22, 1893 – May 24, 1952) was an American journalist, playwright, editor and writer. Writing as Anthony Abbot, he was an author of mysteries and detective fiction. His son was the journalist and author Will Ou ...

wrote in his autobiography that in Baltimore, Hirshberg researched his articles in the library with beautiful young "stenographers", and that because of his wife's complaints, an

indictment An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concept often use that of a ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

had to be quashed through the intervention of

William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst Sr. (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American businessman, newspaper publisher, and politician known for developing the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His flamboya ...

after a request from

Marion Davies Marion Davies (born Marion Cecilia Douras; January 3, 1897 – September 22, 1961) was an American actress, producer, screenwriter, and philanthropist. Educated in a religious convent, Davies fled the school to pursue a career as a chorus girl ...

before Hirshberg could be released on Oursler's recognizance.Poitras pp. 3–4. Hirshberg was

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetariani ...

; in Long Beach he was known for consuming the parsley from all the dishes at dinners. He also swam daily in the ocean. He died in 1969 in Long Beach, aged 92.

Selected publications

*"Popular Medical Fallacies". (1906). ''

American Magazine ''The American Magazine'' was a periodical publication founded in June 1906, a continuation of failed publications purchased a few years earlier from publishing mogul Miriam Leslie. It succeeded ''Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly'' (1876–1904), ' ...

'' 62: 655-660.
''What You Ought to Know About Your Baby''
(1910, with H. L. Mencken)) *"The Truth About Tobacco". (1913). ''

Harpers Weekly ''Harper's Weekly, A Journal of Civilization'' was an American political magazine based in New York City. Published by Harper & Brothers from 1857 until 1916, it featured foreign and domestic news, fiction, essays on many subjects, and humor, ...

''.
"The Case Against Madame Eusapia Palladino"
(1910). ''The Medical Critic and Guide''. *''Low Calorie Diet Cook Book'' (1954) *''The Family Diet Guide'' (1959)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hirshberg, Leonard Keene 1877 births 1969 deaths American people convicted of mail and wire fraud Johns Hopkins School of Medicine alumni Physicians from Baltimore American skeptics Vegetarian