This video is one of the saddest stories of the 20th Century.
Rosemary Kennedy, the younger sister of John F Kennedy was born with a mild intellectual disability in 1918.
Although she was happy, personable and vivacious, she could not keep up with her eight high achieving siblings. She was sent to a dozen different schools and traipsed around every doctor and psychologist in New England in the hope of a cure.
She had a brief period of happiness at a Montessori school in London, while her father was Ambassador to the UK, but the war cut this short. When she returned home she went into a decline and her father had her lobotomised at the age of 23, and she had no contact with her family for the next 20 years.
This video explores the shocking views about intellectual disability held by many societies in the 1930s and 40s and the limited treatments available for mental disorders at that time. The details of her lobotomy are presented with a new analysis of some of her behaviour by a neuropsychiatrist with experience of complex mental disorders.
I will also explain why Dr Walter Freeman, who was involved in Rosemary’s lobotomy and who went on to perform 4000 other surgeries, has been described as the most scorned doctor besides Nazi doctor Josef Mengele.
Discovering more for yourself
Kate Clifford Larson’s biography of Rosemary is detailed and authoritative, but more than that, it captures the tragedy of Rosemary’s life, the daughter who just wanted to please her impossible father. Jack El-Hai’s account of Walter Freeman, the Lobotomist, is a fascinating read as well for anyone wanting to know more about one of the darkest chapters in medical history. These and others are available through my Amazon Store. www.amazon.com/shop/professor...
Academic References:
Barr, M. W., & Whitney, E. A. (1930). Preventive Medicine and Mental Deficiency. New England Journal of Medicine, 203(18), 872-876.
Brown, F. W. (1930). Eugenic Sterilization in the United States Its Present Status. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 149(3), 22-35.
Caruso, J. P., & Sheehan, J. P. (2017). Psychosurgery, ethics, and media: a history of Walter Freeman and the lobotomy. Neurosurgical focus, 43(3), E6.
Editorial (1941) Frontal Lobotomy. Journal of American Medical Association, 117(7), 534-5.
El-Hai, J. (2005). The lobotomist: a maverick medical genius and his tragic quest to rid the world of mental illness. Hoboken, NJ: J. Wiley.
Freeman, W. (1941). Neurosurgical Treatment of Certain Abnormal Mental States: Panel Discussion at Cleveland Session. Journal of American Medical Association, 117(7), 517-527.
Freeman, W., & Watts, J. W. (1942). Prefrontal lobotomy: the surgical relief of mental pain. Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, 18(12), 794.
Kessler, R. (1996). The sins of the father: Joseph P. Kennedy and the dynasty he founded. St. Martin's Press.
Mainieri, G., Loddo, G., & Provini, F. (2021). Disorders of arousal: A chronobiological perspective. Clocks & Sleep, 3(1), 53-65.
Nevsimalova, S., Prihodova, I., Kemlink, D., & Skibova, J. (2013). Childhood parasomnia-a disorder of sleep maturation? European Journal of Paediatric Neurology, 17(6), 615-619.
Nikolić, D., Marinković, M., Međo, B., & Jovanović, K. (2016). Absence epilepsy-electroclinical features and current advances. Paediatrics Today, 12(1), 131-8.
Copyright Disclaimer
The primary purpose of this video is educational. I have tried to use material in the public domain or with Creative Commons Non-attribution licences wherever possible. Where attribution is required, I have listed this below. I believe that any copyright material used falls under the remit of Fair Use, but if any content owners would like to dispute this, I will not hesitate to immediately remove that content. It is not my intention to infringe on content ownership in any way. If you happen to find your art or images in the video, please let me know and I will be glad to credit you.
Images
Wikimedia Commons
Wellcome Collection
Science Museum
John F Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
Public Domain or used on Fair Use basis for education purpose
Music
George Gershwin - Rhapsody in Blue. Performed by the United States Marine Band with conductor and pianist Bramwell Tovey. Public domain via Wikimedia commons.
George Gershwin piano transcription of "The Man I Love", performed by Constantin Stephan. CC4.0 via Wikimedia commons.
Gustav Holst - The Planets - Mars, the bringer of war. Performed by Skidmore College Orchestra.
Gustav Mahler - Symphony No. 5 Adagietto. Peabody Symphony Orchestra. CC1.0 via Wikimedia commons.
Jules Massenet - "Méditation" from Thaïs performed by Bomsori Kim and Pallavi Mahidhara. CC3.0 via Wikimedia commons.
Video produced by Professor Graeme Yorston and Tom Yorston.