Thomas B. Fitzpatrick (December 19, 1919 – November 16, 2003) was an American

dermatologist Dermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the skin.''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.'' Random House, Inc. 2001. Page 537. . It is a speciality with both medical and surgical aspects. A dermatologist is a specialist medica ...

. He was Chairman of the Department of Dermatology at

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...

and Chief of the Massachusetts General Hospital Dermatology Service from 1959 to 1987. He has been described as "the father of modern academic dermatology" and as "the most influential dermatologist of the last 100 years", in part because he trained so many of the leaders in the field.

Early life, education, and career

Fitzpatrick was born in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

on December 19, 1919. He earned a bachelor's degree from the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

. He then received an M.D. degree from

, where he became interested in the relatively new specialty of dermatology. After an internship at

Boston City Hospital The Boston City Hospital (1864–1996), in Boston, Massachusetts, was a public hospital, located in the South End. It was "intended for the use and comfort of poor patients, to whom medical care will be provided at the expense of the city, and . ...

he went to the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

for a Ph.D. in pathology. After two years at the Army Medical Center during World War II, he trained in clinical dermatology at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

and the Mayo Clinic. At the age of 32, fresh out of training, he became Professor and Chair of Dermatology at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

. In 1959, still only 39, he was named chair of the Dermatology Department at Harvard Medical School, the youngest professor and chair at Harvard.

Research

He conducted early research on melanoma. In 1966 he and dermatopathologist Wallace H. Clark Jr., together with John Raker and Martin C. Mihm Jr., created the first Pigmented Lesion Clinic in the United States at Massachusetts General Hospital. Clark's studies at that clinic resulted in the Clark's level system, which uses the microscopic appearance of a melanoma to predict its clinical course and prognosis. Fitzpatrick's group also produced the first systematic study of the early warning signs of melanoma. He investigated the role of sunlight and especially

sunburn Sunburn is a form of radiation burn that affects living tissue, such as skin, that results from an overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, usually from the Sun. Common symptoms in humans and animals include: red or reddish skin that is h ...

in the development of melanoma. In 1975, he devised the

Fitzpatrick scale The Fitzpatrick scale (also Fitzpatrick skin typing test; or Fitzpatrick phototyping scale) is a numerical classification schema for human skin color. It was developed in 1975 by American dermatologist Thomas B. Fitzpatrick as a way to estimate th ...

of skin phototypes, which described the common tanning behaviour of various skin types. He worked with other researchers and with industry to develop and test some of the first modern sunscreens. He was a developer of

PUVA PUVA (psoralen and UVA) is an ultraviolet light therapy treatment for skin diseases: eczema, psoriasis, graft-versus-host disease, vitiligo, mycosis fungoides, large plaque parapsoriasis, and cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, using the sensitizing e ...

therapy for the treatment of

psoriasis Psoriasis is a long-lasting, noncontagious autoimmune disease characterized by raised areas of abnormal skin. These areas are red, pink, or purple, dry, itchy, and scaly. Psoriasis varies in severity from small, localized patches to complete ...

and other skin disorders. Basic science discoveries included the discovery of the

melanosome A melanosome is an organelle found in animal cells and is the site for synthesis, storage and transport of melanin, the most common light-absorbing pigment found in the animal kingdom. Melanosomes are responsible for color and photoprotection i ...

and of human

tyrosinase Tyrosinase is an oxidase that is the rate-limiting enzyme for controlling the production of melanin. The enzyme is mainly involved in two distinct reactions of melanin synthesis otherwise known as the Raper Mason pathway. Firstly, the hydroxy ...

. He created and edited the first major clinical reference book in the field, ''Fitzpatrick's Dermatology in General Medicine'', currently in its 8th edition.

Personal

His hobby was collecting quotations, of which he had so many that he co-edited a column in ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' called "Reflection for the Day" in partnership with his wife of nearly 60 years, Beatrice Devaney Fitzpatrick. They had five children. He died August 16, 2003 at his home in

Lexington, Massachusetts Lexington is a suburban town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is 10 miles (16 km) from Downtown Boston. The population was 34,454 as of the 2020 census. The area was originally inhabited by Native Americans, and was firs ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzpatrick, Thomas B. 1919 births 2003 deaths American dermatologists Harvard Medical School alumni Harvard Medical School faculty People from Madison, Wisconsin People from Lexington, Massachusetts University of Michigan fellows United States Army personnel of World War II University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Members of the National Academy of Medicine