Wertham, Fredric, 1895-1981

Psychiatrist.

From the description of Fredric Wertham papers, 1818-1986 (bulk 1945-1975). (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 70983190

Psychiatrist and author.

From the description of Papers, 1818-1986 (bulk 1945-1975). (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 31816483

Biographical Note

• 1895, Mar. 20: Born, Friedrich Ignatz Wertheimer to Sigmund and Mathilde Wertheimer, Nuremberg, Germany
• 1914 - 1921 : Pursued medical studies, London University, the Universities of Erlangen, Munich, and Würzburg, Germany
• 1921: M.D., University of Würzburg Postgraduate study, the universities of Paris, France, and Vienna, Austria
• 1922: Appointed staff member, Kraepelin Clinic, Munich, Germany Visited Sigmund Freud at the request of Walter Lippmann to see if Freud would write an article on psychoanalysis for Saturday Review. Freud declined. Immigrated to the United States; accepted a position at Phipps Psychiatric Clinic, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md.
• 1926: Published with Florence Hesketh Significance of the Physical Constitution in Mental Illness. New York: Arno Press
• 1927: Changed name to Fredric Wertham Married Florence Hesketh
• 1932: Appointed senior psychiatrist at Bellevue Mental Hygiene Clinic, New York, N.Y.
• 1934: Published Brain As an Organ. New York: MacMillan Co.
• 1936: Appointed director of Bellevue Mental Hygiene Clinic (later Bellevue Hospital), New York, N.Y.
• 1937: Developed theory of catathymic crisis
• 1940: Appointed director of psychiatric services, Queens Hospital Center, Jamaica, N.Y.
• 1941: Published Dark Legend: A Study in Murder. New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce
• 1946: Opened Lafargue Clinic, a psychiatric clinic for African Americans, in Harlem, New York, N.Y.
• 1947: Published World Within: Illuminating the Neuroses of Our Time. New York: McGraw-Hill (edited by Mary Louise Aswell, with introduction and analyses by Wertham) Opened Quaker Emergency Service Readjustment Center for sexually maladjusted individuals, New York, N.Y.
• 1949: Published Show of Violence. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday and Co.
• 1953: Developed theory of linear dyslexia
• 1954: Published Seduction of the Innocent. New York: Rinehart and Co. Testified before Senate Subcommittee to Investigate Juvenile Delinquency regarding comic books and violence (Kefauver hearings)
• 1955: Published Circle of Guilt. New York: Rinehart and Co.
• 1963: Consulted with Alfred Hitchcock on violence depicted in the mass media
• 1966: Published Sign for Cain. New York: MacMillan Co.
• 1971: Received Sigmund Freud award from the American Society of Psychoanalytic Physicians
• 1973: Published The World of Fanzines. Carbondale and Edwardsville, Ill.: Southern Illinois University Press
• 1981, Nov. 18: Died, Bluehills Farm, Kempton, Pa.

From the guide to the Fredric Wertham Papers, 1818-1986, (bulk 1945-1975), (Manuscript Division Library of Congress)