Hulbert, Harold S. (Harold Stacey), 1887-1949

Harold Stacey Hulbert was born January 27, 1887 at Newburyport, Massachusetts, the son of Palmer Stephen and Rosa M. (Stacey) Hulbert. He graduated from Oak Park (Illinois) High School in 1906 and took an M.D. degree from the University of Michigan Medical School in 1914. In addition to numerous medical positions, Hulbert served as a trial witness and prepared forensic case studies for a number of criminal trials, including those of Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, and John Kammerer.

Hulbert served on the resident staff of Michigan's State Psychopathic Hospital in Ann Arbor, 1914-1917, and was a demonstrator in mental diseases at the University of Michigan, 1915-1917. He directed the Detroit Psychopathic Clinic, 1916, and worked with the National Committee for Mental Hygiene. Between 1917 and 1919 Hulbert was an officer in the United States Navy. From 1919 through 1929 he was an instructor and, later, an associate in neurology at the University of Illinois. For several years after 1929 Hulbert was a psychiatrist for child guidance clinics in Gary and East Chicago, Indiana.

From 1921 to his death Hulbert maintained a private medical practice specializing in neurology and psychiatry. He was known as one of the leading psychiatric expert witnesses of his time and in this capacity he prepared forensic case studies for a number of celebrated criminal trials. Hulbert was a defense witness at the 1924 murder trial of Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb.

Hulbert was a member of numerous professional, social, and fraternal organizations. From 1932 to his death he was an associate editor of the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology . He authored several articles and co-authored “Forensic Neuro-Psychiatric Examination of Testator” (1928) and “The Military Chaplain and His Parishioners” (1943).

Hulbert married Alice Margaret Jenks of Aurora, Illinois on April 21, 1917. The couple had two children: Harold Stacey, who died in childhood, and Margaret Helen (Mrs. Kenneth Buckingham Marble). Hulbert died on February 14, 1949.

From the guide to the Harold S. Hulbert Papers, 1920-1956, (Northwestern University Archives)