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BACKGROUND:
John K. Lattimer made numerous contributions to the field of urology, from his work on the medical management of tuberculosis (TB) to helping establish the field of pediatric urology. His interest in history was manifest in his study of the assassinations of Presidents Lincoln and Kennedy and in his vast collection of historical artifacts.
METHODS:
The scientific literature, texts, interviews and newspaper articles were all reviewed for sources pertaining to Dr Lattimer.
RESULTS:
John Kingsley Lattimer (1914-2007) was born in Mount Clemens, Michigan and grew up in New York. He was an accomplished collegiate track and field athlete at Columbia University and would go on to earn his medical degree at Columbia University College of Physician and Surgeons. He entered the army in 1943 and served as an army physician taking care of D-day soldiers in the field and was attached to General Patton’s Third Army. He also attended to the medical needs of warcrime defendants at the Nuremberg Trials. His wartime experiences lead him to write texts on Hitler, whom he believed, suffered from Parkinson’s disease towards the end of the war. Upon returning from the war, he joined the faculty at Columbia University and ran the nationwide VA program on TB. Using a combination of streptomycin and p-aminosalicylic acid, he showed that half of the TB patients treated could be cured. With the advent of Isoniazid in 1952, the 3 drug combination would help to eradicate TB. His interest in pediatric urology stemmed from the lack of literature in the undeveloped field and from his work at the Babies and Children’s Hospital. In 1951, the Society of Pediatric Urology was established by Dr. Frank Bicknell, him and others in a hotel room at the AUA meeting in Chicago. He held numerous leadership positions in urology including chairman of the Department of Urology at the College of Physician and Surgeons (1955-1980), president of the AUA (1975-1976) and president of the SIU (1973-1979). In 1972, the Kennedy family chose him as the first nongovernmental expert to examine evidence taken at President Kennedy’s autopsy. He was an expert in ballistics and wrote texts regarding the assassinations of Presidents John F Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln. His passion for history was further reflected in his significant collection of historical memorabilia, with one of his most notorious pieces being Napoleon Bonaparte’s penis.
CONCLUSIONS:
John K. Lattimer was a giant in the field of urology and a renaissance man. He is known as a pioneer in the medical management of TB, as a founder of the field of pediatric urology in the United States and for his multiple leadership roles in urology. His passion for history was evident in the multiple texts that he published as well as in his extensive collection of historical artifacts.