Waldo E. "Bill" Nelson (1898 – March 2, 1997) was an American pediatrician who was sometimes referred to as "the father of pediatrics". Nelson authored the leading pediatric textbook (now known as the "Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics") and was a longtime editor of ''

The Journal of Pediatrics ''The Journal of Pediatrics'' is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal that covers all aspects of pediatrics. It was established in 1932 and is published by Elsevier. Although it was originally affiliated with the American Academy of Pediatri ...

''. He led the pediatrics department at

Temple University School of Medicine The Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University (LKSOM), located on the Health Science Campus of Temple University in Philadelphia, PA, is one of 7 schools of medicine in Pennsylvania conferring the M.D. (Doctor of Medicine) degree. It also ...

Biography

Waldo Nelson was born in

McClure, Ohio McClure is a village in Henry County, Ohio, United States. The population was 700 at the 2020 census. History McClure was laid out in the late 1870s, and named after John McClure, an original owner of the town site. In the 1960s and the first ...

in 1898. His father was a pharmacist. He graduated from

Wittenberg College Wittenberg University is a private liberal arts college in Springfield, Ohio. It has 1,326 full-time students representing 33 states and 9 foreign countries. Wittenberg University is associated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Americ ...

. Though his original plan had been to attend business school, the death of Nelson's baby sister inspired him to enter medicine. After working at

Willys-Overland Willys (pronounced , "Willis" ) was a brand name used by Willys–Overland Motors, an American automobile company, founded by John North Willys. It was best known for its design and production of World War II era and later military jeeps (MBs) ...

, Nelson received assistance from an executive at the automobile company and was able to go to medical school. He graduated from University of Cincinnati Medical School in 1926. After completing an internship and residency in the same city, Nelson joined the staff of

Cincinnati Children's Hospital Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC) is an academic pediatric acute care children's hospital located in the Pill Hill neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. The hospital has 652 pediatric beds and is affiliated with the University o ...

in 1929. He left to work for the medical school at Temple in 1940, where he chaired the pediatrics department until 1964. He also spent time as medical director for

St. Christopher's Hospital for Children St. Christopher's Hospital for Children is a pediatric acute care hospital located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The hospital has 188 beds and is affiliated with both the Drexel University College of Medicine and the Temple University School of Me ...

in Philadelphia from 1947 to 1964. Nelson was well known for the textbook that he authored for half a century, the ''Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics''. Between 1959 and 1978, he also served as editor for ''The Journal of Pediatrics''. The journal's circulation tripled during his tenure. Nelson practiced medicine into his eighties and continued to attend and speak at meetings in his nineties. He died of a stroke on March 2, 1997.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Waldo E. 1898 births 1997 deaths American pediatricians Temple University faculty University of Cincinnati College of Medicine alumni Wittenberg University alumni People from Henry County, Ohio