Thoms, Herbert, 1885-1972

Herbert King Thoms, M.D. was a Yale obstetrician and man of many interests and talents. Born in 1885 in Waterbury, Connecticut, his early education was acquired at the Vermont Academy and the Waterbury High School. He received his M.D. from Yale in 1910. Following internships at the Backus Hospital in Norwich and Memorial Hospital in New London, he served as an assistant resident at the Sloane Hospital for Women in New York City. Then, having decided to specialize in obstetrics, he spent a year at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. In 1915, he returned to New Haven where he began an active practice in obstetrics. He was appointed an associate clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Yale, and in 1927 he became a member of the full-time faculty. He became chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in 1947, a position he held until his retirement in 1953. During his academic career, he made many important contributions in his field including studies in pelvimetry, the plan for infant "rooming-in" after delivery in conjunction with Dr. Edith Jackson and members of the Department of Pediatrics, the "natural child birth" program, and studies in the infertility clinic which he established. As a teacher, he was influential in bringing to the attention of his students the importance of a humanistic approach to medicine. Throughout his career he was a prolific author of books and articles on the history of medicine. His special interest was the early history of Connecticut medicine. In addition to his clinical and historical activities, he found the time to become an accomplished artist and engraver.