Dr. John T. Truman
Dr. John T. Truman will present the first Heberden Society Lecture of the 2006–2007 academic year on Thursday, Nov. 9, at 5 p.m. in Uris Faculty Room (A-126). The title of his lecture will be "Wilder Penfield and the Woman in White." The lecture is open to the public; light refreshments will be served.
Dr. Truman, currently deputy chair and professor of pediatrics at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, has nurtured an interest in the history of medicine through his studies and lectures on the lives of individuals ranging from Enlightenment physician John Gregory to educator and physician Sir William Osler to the famous neurosurgeon Wilder Penfield. In the current lecture, Dr. Truman will describe the career of Penfield (1891–1976) and his development of the "Montreal procedure" for the treatment of severe epilepsy. Although Wilder Penfield was born in the United States, he lived for many years in Canada and became known as "the greatest living Canadian" in his later life.
The Heberden Society was established at the Medical Center in 1975 by a group of medical interns and residents who were interested in promoting the history of medicine. The society sponsors three lectures during each academic year. The society is named after Sir William Heberden the younger (1767–1845), who served as physician to King George III of England in his last days. King George III was the sovereign who granted the charter for The New York Hospital in 1771.