Skip to main content
COLLECTION Identifier: H MS c196

Leon Eisenberg papers

Overview

The Leon Eisenberg papers, 1905-2009 (inclusive), 1968-2005 (bulk), are the product of Eisenberg’s activities as a psychiatrist, educator, lecturer, and contributing member of national and international organizations. Eisenberg's main areas of research were autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, schizophrenia, and anxiety and depression.

Dates

  • Creation: 1905-2009 (inclusive),
  • Creation: Majority of material found within 1968-2005 .

Creator

Language of Materials

Papers are predominantly in English. Occasional scientific paper reprints, newspaper clippings, and correspondence are in Dutch, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Slovenian, Spanish, and Swedish.

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research. Access requires advance notice. Access to Harvard University and organizational records is restricted for 50 years from the date of creation. These restrictions are noted where they appear in Series I. Access to personal and patient information is restricted for 80 years from the date of creation. These restrictions appear in Series I-III. Researchers may apply for access to restricted records. Consult Public Services for further information.

Access to electronic records in this collection (as found in Series I and IV) is also subject to the above restrictions. Additionally, access is premised on the availability of a computer station, requisite software, and/or the ability of Public Services staff to review and/or print out records of interest in advance of an on-site visit.

The Papers are stored offsite. Researchers are advised to consult Public Services for further information concerning retrieval of material.

Conditions Governing Use

The Harvard Medical Library does not hold copyright on all materials in the collection. Researchers are responsible for identifying and contacting any third-party copyright holders for permission to reproduce or publish. For more information on the Center's use, publication, and reproduction policies, view our Reproductions and Use Policy.

Extent

55.6 cubic feet (55 records center cartons, 1 half letter size document box, and 1 legal size document box)
06.79 gigabytes* (17 3.5 inch floppy disks, 4 compact discs, and a shared network drive)

The Leon Eisenberg papers, 1905-2009 (inclusive), 1968-2005 (bulk), are the product of Eisenberg’s activities as a psychiatrist, educator, lecturer, and contributing member of national and international organizations. The papers consist of four series: Series I. Alphabetical Files; Series II. Writings and Publications; Series III. Collected Reprints and Publications; and Series IV. Electronic Records.

Alphabetical files (Series I) comprise the bulk of the collection and consist of administrative and teaching records, meeting minutes, reports, subject files, personnel records, personal and professional correspondence, and Eisenberg’s lectures. Predominant topics of the lectures, collected articles and reprints, and correspondence include autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, affirmative action, ethics, and conflict of interest. Writings and publications (Series II) consist of article and lecture drafts, reprints of Eisenberg’s articles, notes, and correspondence supporting the development of Eisenberg’s manuscripts and book chapters on such topics as depression, AIDS, human cloning, and epilepsy. The papers also contain: collected reprints, newspaper clippings, and notes about health care reform, affirmative action, sexual abuse, and human rights (Series III); and electronic records consisting of Eisenberg’s lectures, manuscript drafts, letters of recommendation, photographs, and correspondence with friends, family, and colleagues (Series IV).

Papers are predominantly in English. Occasional scientific paper reprints, newspaper clippings, and correspondence are in Dutch, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Slovenian, Spanish, and Swedish.

Biographical Note

Leon Eisenberg (1922-2009), A.B., 1944, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; M.D., 1946, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, was the Maude and Lillian Presley Professor of Social Medicine and Professor of Psychiatry (1974-2009) at Harvard Medical School, as well as Chief of Child Psychiatry (1959-1967) at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, Chief of Psychiatric Services (1967-1974) at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, and Chairman of the Department of Social Medicine and Health Policy (1980-1991) (now the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine) at Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts. Eisenberg was known for his research in autism, advances in pediatric clinical trials and psychopharmacology, and his role in developing the affirmative action program at Harvard Medical School.

Leon Eisenberg was born on 08 August 1922 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He received his A.B. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1944 and his M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine, in 1946, serving as the class valedictorian. In 1946 Eisenberg began his internship at Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, New York, leaving in 1948 to serve in the United States Army Medical Corps as a Captain until 1950. Following his military service, Eisenberg began his psychiatric residency at Sheppard Pratt Hospital, Towson, Maryland and served as a Fellow in Child Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland from 1952 to 1954 and an Instructor in Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University from 1953 to 1955. Eisenberg was eventually appointed Chief of Child Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1959 and Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University in 1961. While at Johns Hopkins, Eisenberg launched the first randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial of psychiatric medicine with children.

In 1967 Eisenberg was appointed Chief of Psychiatric Services at Massachusetts General Hospital, a position he held until 1974, as well as being appointed Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Eisenberg’s subsequent appointments at Harvard Medical School include: Chair of the Faculty Commission on Relations with the Black Community (1968); Maude and Lillian Presley Professor of Psychiatry (1974-1980); Chairman of the Department of Social Medicine and Health Policy (1980-1991); Maude and Lillian Presley Professor of Social Medicine (1980-1993); and Maude and Lillian Presley Professor of Social Medicine and Professor of Psychiatry, Emeritus (1993-2009). While at Harvard Medical School, Eisenberg created the Department of Social Medicine and chaired an admissions committee pertaining to the affirmative action program. In addition to his roles at Harvard Medical School, he also served as a consultant to numerous hospitals and was Senior Associate in Psychiatry (1974-1992) at Children’s Hospital Medical Center (now Boston Children’s Hospital), Boston, Massachusetts.

During the course of his career, Eisenberg authored over 230 articles and 130 book chapters, and was on the editorial board of several journals, including the Journal of Psychiatric Research (1962-1993), American Journal of Orthopsychiatry (1963-1973), and Psychological Medicine (1977-1990). He was a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Psychiatric Association, American Association of University Professors, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Massachusetts Medical Society, Institute of Medicine, Rosalynn Carter Mental Health Task Force, and was chairman and member of numerous World Health Organization scientific groups and expert advisory panels. Eisenberg lectured extensively nationally and internationally, and received numerous honorary degrees and awards, including: Theobald Smith Award (1979); American Academy of Pediatrics Aldrich Award (1980) and Dale Richmond Award (1989); Institute of Medicine Rhode and Bernard Sarnat Award (1996) and Walsh McDermott Medal (2003); and the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression Ruane Prize (2003).

Leon Eisenberg had two children, Mark and Kathy, from his first marriage to Ruth Harriet Bleier. Eisenberg married Carola Guttmacher, former Harvard Medical School Dean of Students and Lecturer on Social Medicine and was the stepfather of Alan and Laurence Guttmacher, Carola’s children from her first marriage to forensic psychiatrist, Manfred Guttmacher. Leon Eisenberg died in 2009 of cancer and was survived by his wife and children.

Series and Subseries in the Collection

  1. I. Alphabetical Files, 1848, 1851, 1860, 1874, 1891, 1905-2009, undated
  2. II. Writings and Publications, 1955-2009, undated
  3. ___ A. Manuscripts and Lectures, 1970-2009, undated
  4. ___ B. Eisenberg's Reprints and Publications, 1955-1999, 2006-2009
  5. III. Collected Reprints and Publications, 1967, 1977-2008, undated
  6. IV. Electronic Records, 1994-2009

Immediate Source of Acquisition

  1. Accession number 1999-043. Donated by Leon Eisenberg. 1999 March 05.
  2. Accession number 2001-022. Donated by Leon Eisenberg. 2000 October 11.
  3. Accession number 2008-076. Donated by Leon Eisenberg. 2008 June 03.
  4. Accession number 2008-085. Donated by Leon Eisenberg. 2008 June 03.
  5. Accession number 2010-008. Donated by Carola Eisenberg. 2009 October 26.

Related Collections in the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Center for the History of Medicine

  1. Records of the Harvard Medical School, Department of Social Medicine. Series 00295.
  2. Records of the Harvard Medical School, Office of the Dean. Series 00155.
  3. Records of the Harvard Medical School, Office of the Dean. Series 00154.
  4. Papers of Carola Eisenberg. H MS c254.

Processing Information

Processed by Meghan M. Bannon, 2014 October.

Processing staff in the Center for the History of Medicine analyzed, arranged, and described the papers, and created a finding aid to improve access. Items were removed from three ring binders and, where necessary, photocopied to acid-free paper. Folder titles were transcribed from the originals. Processing staff discarded duplicate records and records that did not meet the collection policy of the Center for the History of Medicine. All electronic media (as found in Series I) were imaged using Access Data’s FTK (Forensic Toolkit) and a Forensic Recovery of Evidence Device. Records were then transferred to secure storage. Files that could be opened were sampled for content, however, researchers should be aware that not every file in the collection could be opened and assessed. Files for which specific software was needed, but not available to staff at the time of processing, were not reviewed. Regardless of copy status, all original media have been retained. Electronic records in Series IV were acquired from Leon Eisenberg's shared network drive through Harvard Medical School's Information Technology Department. Empty file folders and shortcuts were deleted from the user copy.

Title
Eisenberg, Leon, 1922-2009. Papers, 1905-2009 (inclusive), 1968-2005 (bulk): Finding Aid.
Author
Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine. Center for the History of Medicine.
Language of description
und
EAD ID
med00199

Repository Details

Part of the Center for the History of Medicine (Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine) Repository

The Center for the History of Medicine in the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine is one of the world's leading resources for the study of the history of health and medicine. Our mission is to enable the history of medicine and public health to inform healthcare, the health sciences, and the societies in which they are embedded.

Contact:
10 Shattuck Street
Boston MA 02115
(617) 432-2170