Gage, Phineas, 1823-1860

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person

Name Entries *

Gage, Phineas, 1823-1860

Computed Name Heading

Name Components

Surname :

Gage

Forename :

Phineas

Date :

1823-1860

eng

Latn

authorizedForm

rda

Genders

Male

Exist Dates

Exist Dates - Date Range

1823-07-09

1823-07-09

Birth

1860-05-21

1860-05-21

Death

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Biographical History

Phineas P. Gage (1823–1860) was an American railroad construction foreman remembered for his improbable survival of an accident in which a large iron rod was driven completely through his head, destroying much of his brain's left frontal lobe, and for that injury's reported effects on his personality and behavior over the remaining 12 years of his lifeffects sufficiently profound that friends saw him (for a time at least) as "no longer Gage".

Long known as the "American Crowbar Case - once termed "the case which more than all others is calculated to excite our wonder, impair the value of prognosis, and even to subvert our physiological doctrines"- Phineas Gage influenced 19th-century discussion about the mind and brain, particularly debate on cerebral localization,and was perhaps the first case to suggest the brain's role in determining personality, and that damage to specific parts of the brain might induce specific mental changes.

eng

Latn

External Related CPF

https://viaf.org/viaf/13192316

https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q316742

Other Entity IDs (Same As)

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Languages Used

eng

Latn

Subjects

Neurological disorders

Neurology

Phrenology

Railroad accidents

Nationalities

Americans

Activities

Occupations

Railroad Worker

Legal Statuses

Places

Valparaiso (Chile)

,

AssociatedPlace

Work

In August 1852, Gage was invited to Chile to work as a long-distance stagecoach driver there, "caring for horses, and often driving a coach heavily laden and drawn by six horses" on the Valparaíso–Santiago route.

San Francisco (Calif.)

CA, US

AssociatedPlace

Residence

After his health began to fail in mid-1859,​​ Gage left Chile for San Francisco, arriving (in his mother's words) "in a feeble condition, having failed very much since he left New Hampshire .... In San Francisco he recovered under the care of his mother and sister.

San Francisco (Calif.)

CA, US

AssociatedPlace

Death

Death: 21 May 1860 (aged 36), San Francisco, San Francisco County, California, USA.

Grafton County

NH, US

AssociatedPlace

Birth

Gage was the first of five children born to Jesse Eaton Gage and Hannah Trussell (Swetland) Gage of Grafton County, New Hampshire.

Hanover

NH, US

AssociatedPlace

Work

For about 18 months, Gage worked for the owner of a stable and coach service in Hanover, New Hampshire.

Santa Clara

CA, US

AssociatedPlace

Work

[Gage],"anxious to work", found employment with a farmer in Santa Clara.

Vermont

VT, US

AssociatedPlace

Work

Phineas Gage's accident occurred on September 13, 1848 when he was direct­ing a work gang blast­ing rock while pre­par­ing the road­bed for the Rut­land & Bur­ling­ton Rail­road south of the village of Cav­en­dish, Vermont.

Convention Declarations

<conventionDeclaration><citation>VIAF</citation></conventionDeclaration>

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Identity Constellation Identifier(s)

w6m62mq3

9992426