Saturday, January 30, 2016

The 19th Century Redundant...

...Name of the Day belongs to Dr. Doctor Willard Bliss, the physician who treated President James A. Garfield after he was shot. From a review in the Times of the upcoming American Experience: Murder of a President (my emphasis):

The poor doctoring Garfield received is now the stuff of legend and is thoroughly, somewhat gruesomely detailed here.

“Even by 1880 standards, Garfield was receiving very questionable medical care,” says Candice Millard, whose book “Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President” is the basis for the program.

The oddly named Doctor Willard Bliss — yes, Dr. Doctor — comes off as a villain to rival Guiteau, making bad decisions and barring other physicians from assisting or advising. Garfield died that September.

No comments: