Howard Atwood Kelly
Howard Atwood Kelly (February 20, 1858 – January 12, 1943) was an American gynecologist. He obtained his B.A. degree and M.D. degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He, William Osler, William Halsted, and William Welch together are known as the "Big Four", the founding professors at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland.[3] He is credited with establishing gynecology as a specialty by developing new surgical approaches to gynecological diseases and pathological research.[4] He also developed several medical innovations, including the improved cystoscope, Kelly's clamp, Kelly's speculum, and Kelly's forceps. Because Kelly was a famous prohibitionist and Fundamentalist Christian, many of his contemporaries expressed skepticism towards his medical professionalism.[3]
For the British admiral, see Howard Kelly (Royal Navy officer).
Howard A. Kelly
Early life and education[edit]
Howard Kelly was born in Camden, New Jersey, in 1858; his parents were Henry Kuhl Kelly and Louisa Warner (Hard) Kelly. His family had a history in politics (Kelly's father's great grandfather, Michael Hillegas, was the first Treasurer of the United States), business, real estate and civil service.[5] He was raised with strong religious influence from his parents, especially his mother.[6] During the Civil War, Kelly and his mother lived in Chester while his father served in the war; Kelly spent his free time observing nature and studying the Bible with his mother.[7] In the fall of 1867, Kelly entered the Faires Classical Institute. There, he developed an interest in languages, biology, natural science, and botany. In 1873 he started his undergraduate education at the University of Pennsylvania.[8] During his college years, he was the president of the Franklin Scientific Society. At the age of 17, he became a member of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences. He received his B.A. degree in 1877.[9]: 1–5
Medical career[edit]
Medical education[edit]
In 1877 he enrolled in the University of Pennsylvania's medical school where he became interested in anatomy, and in 1882, he graduated with the Anomaly Prize from the Demonstrator of Morbid Anatomy.[5] He did his residency at the Episcopal Hospital at Kensington, Pennsylvania. Gynecology wasn't practiced at the hospital, so he opened his own clinic in a two-story house in a working district where he also lived. He saw patients during the day and slept on a sofa at night with a string tied to his toe so that whenever there was a tug on the string, he would be woken up to provide medical assistance. He also made house calls.[10] Later, with money from a group of Philadelphia philanthropist women, he was able to open a formal clinic with an operating room in Norris Square, which later became the Kensington Hospital for Women, the sixth women's hospital in the United States.[5] There, he created the "Kelly stitch", a procedure to treat Stress incontinence,[10][11] and performed the first successful C-section in Philadelphia. He gained a reputation as an innovator in surgical techniques during this time.[12]
Personal life[edit]
Family[edit]
In 1889, Kelly married a German woman named Olga Elizabeth Laetitia Bredow in Danzig, Germany, daughter of Doctor Justus Bredow.[24] They spent their honeymoon in Paris, France.[9]: 48–52 In Baltimore, they raised nine children together in a five-story, eight-bedroom home with a 100,000-volume library.[13][9]: 48–52 They also built a summer estate, Liriodendron, in Bel Air, Maryland.
Kelly raised his children in the Episcopal faith, as he was raised. One of his sons, Edmund Kelly, became a doctor.[9]: 48–52
Naturalist[edit]
Kelly's childhood interest in nature continued into his adult life.[9]: 48–52 He kept several dozen cages filled with different types of reptiles in his house. He also learned how to handle rattlesnakes and harvest their venom.[25][26] Later on in his career, Kelly received the title of Honorary Curator by The Division of Reptiles and Amphibians at the University of Michigan.[27]
Some of his awards:
Other recognition:
