1. Walter Freeman
Jack Basten

2. Childhood Born on November 14, 1895
To Corinne Keen & Walter Freeman in Philadelphia
Richard, Norman, Jack, William, Virginia, and Dot
William Keen

3. William Keen Renowned surgeon Served in the Civil War
Eventually became a medical professor
Eventually president of the American Medical Association

4. Education Yale in 1912 Medical school at University of Pennsylvania
Worked at a General Electric factory
Eventually contracted typhoid fever
Medical school at University of Pennsylvania
Interest in neuropathology
Eventually began working at St. Elizabeths in 1924

5. Marjorie Franklin
Married on November 3, 1924 after knowing each other for 3 months
First daughter, Lorne, in July 1925
Twin boys, Walter and Franklin, in 1927
Paul in 1928
Keen in 1934
Randy in 1936

6. James Watts Accomplished neurosurgeon Became partners in 1935
Attended a London conference together in 1936

7. Leucotomy Pioneered by Moniz
Originally cut out small sections of the brain
Later moved to cutting the fibers connected to the thalamus
Also started using local anesthetics

8. Lobotomy After WW2, needed to reduce the time of the procedure
Operation now would go through the trans orbital plate behind the eye
Decided to move from anesthesia to ECT induced comas
This would eventually lead to the breakup of Freeman and Watts

9. Fame
The number of lobotomies performed went from 150 in 1945 to over in 1949
By this time, lobotomy had been fully accepted by the medical community
Lobotomies were performed at medical institutes all over the country

10. On the Road Cross country tour of psychiatric facilities in 1949
1951 began another major trip
1952 trip into Virginia and operated on 353 patients
Trip into West Virginia in July that same year, operated on 228 patients in a 12 day time span

11. Decline 1954 led to the invention of Chlorpromazine
Sold as a “chemical lobotomy”
Walter and Marjorie moved to California in June
Eventually was no longer able to practice in 1967
Began a search for past patients to prove lobotomy was a success
Died to colon cancer on May 31, 1972

12. Success? No one was ever fully “cured”
Peoples’ personalities tended to change at the very least
Results were all over the board

13. Discussion Questions
Was Walter in this for the fame or did he really want to help?
In 5 or 10 years, what might we realize was not a good idea or practice?