Thomas Benton Cooley

Thomas Benton Cooley (* 1871 in Ann Arbor ( Michigan ), † October 13, 1945 ) was an American pediatrician . He was the first to describe a form of thalassemia ( beta thalassemia ), which was therefore long called Cooley's anemia .

Life

Cooley was the son of Thomas M. Cooley, Michigan Supreme Court Justice. After graduating from Michigan University, he first completed an internship at Boston City Hospital . He then returned to Michigan, worked and taught at the local medical school . After a year overseas in 1900, he returned to Boston City Hospital as an assistant doctor . In 1903 he was appointed professor of hygiene at the University of Michigan. In 1905 he moved to Detroit , where he was the first established pediatrician. During the First World War he was deputy head of the Children's Bureau of the American Red Cross , for which he was awarded the Legion of Honor by the French government in 1924 . After the end of the war, from 1921 to 1941 he again took over the management of the children's hospital in Detroit. From 1936 to 1941 he was also Professor of Pediatrics at Wayne University .

Act

Within paediatrics, Cooley specialized in diseases of the blood and the blood-forming organs ( hematology ). He was particularly interested in childhood anemias . In 1925 he published a paper on congenital anemia with enlargement of the spleen and noticeable changes in the bones. This is still considered the first description of beta thalassemia today. In 1941, Cooley was President of the American Pediatric Society (APS).

On October 8, 2014, an asteroid was named after him: (4830) Thomascooley .

Works

A Series of Cases of Splenomegaly in Children, with Anemia and peculiar Bone Changes . 1925

Web links

personal data
SURNAME	Cooley, Thomas Benton
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Cooley, Thomas B.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American pediatrician, first to describe beta thalassemia
DATE OF BIRTH	1871
PLACE OF BIRTH	Ann Arbor , Michigan , United States
DATE OF DEATH	October 13, 1945