On October 29, 1901, Edward Anthony Spitzka performed an autopsy on the brain of Leon Czolgosz, the assassin of President William McKinley. Born in 1876 in New York City, Spitzka established a career as a physician, anatomist, and neurologist within the United States, focusing his research on the physical properties and structural variations of the human brain.
Academic Contributions and Editorial Work
Spitzka authored forty papers throughout his career, often focusing on encephalic anatomy and the comparison of brain weights across different populations and professions. He held a significant editorial role in medical literature, co-editing the seventeenth American edition of Gray’s Anatomy with J.C. DaCosta in September 1908. He subsequently edited the eighteenth edition in October 1910 and the nineteenth edition in July 1913. In 1908, his scientific contributions led to his election as a member of the American Philosophical Society.
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Much of his professional focus involved conducting post-mortem examinations on the remains of prominent American figures. His subjects included major academics and public figures such as Edward Drinker Cope, Joseph Leidy, Harrison Allen, William Pepper, George Francis Train, and Major John Wesley Powell. These studies were intended to analyze the structural characteristics of individuals recognized for their intellectual or professional achievements, contributing to his status as a specialist in the field of brain anatomy.
Study of Electrocution and Neurology
Beyond his work on post-mortem examinations, Spitzka investigated the physiological effects of high-voltage electricity. He authored reports on the infliction of the death penalty by electricity and conducted research on the resuscitation of those shocked by electrical currents. Along with H.E. Radasch, he examined brain lesions observed following legal electrocutions, including a 1903 case involving Toni Turckofski, a Polish murderer executed at Sing Sing Prison. He also directed the Baugh Institute of Anatomy until 1914.
Fast facts
- Born: 1876, New York City
- Died: 1922, Mount Vernon
- Occupation: Physician, anatomist, neurologist
- Membership: American Philosophical Society
- Gray's Anatomy editions edited: 17th, 18th, and 19th
- Brain autopsy subject: Leon Czolgosz
Questions readers ask
What was the professional focus of Edward Anthony Spitzka?
He was a neurologist and anatomist who performed autopsies on notable figures and edited several American editions of Gray's Anatomy.
When did he die?
Edward Anthony Spitzka died in 1922 at the age of 46 in Mount Vernon.
