Lindley, Walter, 1852-

Dr. Walter Lindley (1852-1922) was born in Monrovia, Ind., Jan. 13, 1852, the son of Milton Lindley, merchant, treasurer and commissioner of Los Angeles County, and Mary E. Lindley (born Mary E. Banta). As a boy he attended school and worked on a farm. He graduated from Keen's School of Anatomy in Philadelphia in 1872, followed by Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn, N.Y. in 1875. During his final year of college he was appointed by the Brooklyn Board of Health as ambulance surgeon and was resident physician for the Eastern District Hospital in Williamsburg. In 1875 he moved to Los Angeles and married Miss Lou C. Puett with whom he had two children, Flora and Myra. In 1881 Mrs. Lindley died. From 1882 to 1893 he was married to Lilla Leighton but was widowed a second time when she died at the age of 34. In 1876 he married his third wife, the widow of Mr. Robert Hardie, Mrs. Florence Hardie, who was the sister of two of his colleagues, Dr. John R. Haynes and Dr. Francis L. Haynes. The couple had two children, Dorothy and Francis Haynes. He helped organize the Young Men's Republican Club of Los Angeles and was its first president. He established the Free Dispensary of the Medical College on Requena Street which treated the underprivileged at no charge. As the County Health Officer in 1878 he helped develop free vaccination for public school children and a system of registering births and deaths. As Public Health Officer in 1879 he issued the first public health warning of the outbreak of scarlet fever. In 1885 he helped found the College of Medicine at the University of Southern California, serving as dean and on the faculty of obstetrics and gynecology over the years. In 1886 with colleagues J.P. Widney and J.B. Kurtz, he founded the first medical journal in Los Angeles, the Southern California practitioner, which was published for 36 years, serving as editor, publisher and frequent contributor. In 1886 he opened a practice on 315 West Six Street, known as Dr. Lindley's Private Hospital for over 20 years. In 1887, Dr. Lindley and Dr. Francis Haynes established "The Pacific," the first private hospital in Southern California which gradually developed into the California Hospital. Dr. Lindley managed it for 20 years. In 1920 it was sold to the Lutheran Hospital Society and is still in operation as the California Hospital Medical Center. He helped found the Los Angeles Orphan's Home, serving as its first president in 1882 and acting as physician for eight years. He advocated for family placement of orphan children rather than placement in institutional orphanages. He believed that California needed a reform school for delinquent children. In 1890 the Reform School opened, which was later renamed the Whittier State School. He was appointed superintendent from 1890 to 1894, remaining a member of the Board of Trustees and serving as president from 1899 to 1905. The school was later renamed the Fred C. Nelles School of Boys and is no longer in operation. In 1901 he helped open a tuberculosis sanitarium in Idyllwild, Calif. which failed financially and was turned into the Idyllwild Mountain Resort Company which suffered from a devastating fire in April 1905. In 1906 he ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Los Angeles on the Republican ticket. On Jan. 20, 1922 he died of a cerebral hemorrhage in his home.

Biography / Administrative History

Dr. Walter Lindley (1852-1922) was born in Monrovia, Indiana, January 13, 1852. He was the son of Milton Lindley, merchant, treasurer and commissioner of Los Angeles County and Mary E. Lindley (born Mary E. Banta). During boyhood he attended school and worked on a farm. He graduated from Keen's School of Anatomy in Philadelphia in 1872, followed by Long Island College Hospital, Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1875. During his final year of college he was appointed by the Brooklyn Board of Health as ambulance surgeon and was also resident physician for the Eastern District Hospital in Williamsburg.

In 1875 Dr. Lindley moved to Los Angeles and married Miss Lou C. Puett. They had two children, Flora and Myra. In 1881 Mrs. Lindley died. From 1882 to 1893 he was married to Lilla Leighton, but was widowed a second time when she died at the age of 34. In 1896 he married his third wife, the widow of Mr. Robert Hardie, Mrs. Florence Hardie. Florence was the sister of two of Dr. Lindley's colleagues, Dr. John R. Haynes and Dr. Francis L. Haynes. The couple had two children, Dorothy and Francis Haynes.

After moving to Los Angeles, Dr. Lindley quickly became immersed in politics, philanthropic activities, and medical practice. He helped organize the Young Men's Republican Club of Los Angeles and became the group's first president. He established the Free Dispensary of the Medical College on Requena Street, which treated the underprivileged at no charge. When he became the County Health Officer in 1878, a position he held for one year, he helped develop a free vaccination for children attending public schools and a system of registering births and deaths. In 1879 he was appointed Health Officer of Los Angles, where he issued the first health circular to the public warning of the outbreak of scarlet fever.

Dr. Lindley firmly believed that Los Angeles needed a medical school. In 1885 he helped found the College of Medicine at the University of Southern California. Over the years he served as dean and on the faculty of obstetrics and gynecology. Shortly thereafter, Dr. Lindley brought another first to Los Angeles. In 1886, with colleagues J.P. Widney and J.B. Kurtz, Dr. Lindley founded the first medical journal in Los Angeles, the Southern California Practitioner, which was published for 36 years. Through most of the publication's existence, Dr. Lindley served as editor, publisher, and frequent contributor.

In1886 Dr. Lindley opened a practice on 315 West Six Street, which became known as Dr. Lindley's Private Hospital for over 20 years. His brother-in-laws, John R. Haynes and Francis Haynes also worked at the hospital. In 1887 Dr. Lindley and Dr. Francis Haynes established "The Pacific," the first private hospital in Southern California which gradually developed into the California Hospital. For twenty years Dr. Lindley managed the California Hospital, which was owned and operated entirely by physicians and became known as one of the best hospitals on the west coast. In 1920 the hospital was sold to the Lutheran Hospital Society and is still in operation today as the California Hospital Medical Center.

Dr. Lindley was a life long advocate for the proper care of orphan and delinquent children. In 1880 Dr. Lindley helped found the Los Angeles Orphan's Home, where he served as the first president in 1882, and acting physician for eight years. During his travels to England and France he visited orphan homes, where orphans were placed with families and learned a trade. Dr. Lindley became a proponent of creating a family atmosphere for orphan children in place of the institutional orphanages that existed in the United States. Dr. Lindley also believed that the state of California needed a reform school for delinquent children, something that was already common in many other states. His wish became true in 1890 when the Reform School opened, which shortly thereafter was renamed the Whittier State School. Dr. Lindley was appointed superintendent from 1890 to 1894 and his brother Hervey was appointed to the Board of Trustees. After Dr. Lindley left his post as superintendent, he remained a member of the Board of Trustees and served as president from1899 to 1905. The Whittier State School was later renamed the Fred C. Nelles School for Boys, which is no longer in operation today.

In 1901 Dr. Lindley opened a tuberculosis sanitarium in Idyllwild, California with Dr. F.T. Bicknell. While Dr. Lindley had many successes during his lifetime, this was not one of them. He attributed the financial failure of the sanitarium to the poor roads that made it difficult to travel to Idyllwild and that most individuals with mild cases of tuberculosis did not want to be near others with the disease for fear of making it worse. After a few years the sanitarium was turned into the Idyllwild Mountain Resort Company, which suffered from a devastating fire in April of 1905.

In 1906 Dr. Lindley became a nominee for Los Angeles mayor on the Republican ticket. The Los Angeles Times supported him and from all reports Dr. Lindley appeared to be the shoe-in candidate. It was a stunning disappointment when he placed third, losing to Democrat E. W. Harper.

On January 20, 1922, Dr. Lindley died of a cerebral hemorrhage in his home. He was survived by his wife and four children.

References for biography: Harnagel, Edward E. "The Life and Times of Walter Lindley, M.D., 1852-1922, and the Founding of the California Hospital." Southern California Quarterly. 1971;53(4):303-15.

Burdette, Robert J., ed. Greater Los Angeles and Southern California, their portraits and chronological record of their Careers. Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1906, p. 132

"Doctor Lindley Dies at Home," Los Angeles Times, January 25, 1922

"Dr. Lindley is Laid to Rest," Los Angeles Times, January 29, 1922.

"In Social Spheres," Los Angeles Times, July 19, 1894, p. 4.

National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, volume 13. New York, James T. White and Company, 1906.

Dr. Walter Lindley Scrapbooks, Francis Haynes Lindley Memorial Collection, Honnold/Mudd Special Collections, Claremont University Consortium.

Chronology