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William Horatio Bates

Born  1860-12-23
Died  1931-07-10

Related eponyms

    American physician, born December 23, 1860; died July 10, 1931.

    Biography of William Horatio Bates

    William Horatio Bates graduated A.B. from Cornell University in 1881 and received his medical degree at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1885. He appears to have suffered from a strange episode of amnesia or a strange form of aphasia. 1902 he disappeared, was found, and then disappeared again, only to reappear after his second wife, who searched in vain for him, had died. This episode was said to have given him a particular interest in memory, perhaps influencing the direction of his work. He was married three times, having been widowed twice. In 1928, he married his long-time personal assistant Emily C. Lierman.

    Bates practiced ophthalmology and treated many patients, who claimed to have been cured of vision defects, especially myopia. This brought him into conflict with his peers. He defended himself by claiming that other physicians were in thrall to the establishment.

    Bates also did other research. He discovered the astringent and haemostatic properties of the substance produced by the suprarenal gland, and its value in medicine, especially in surgeries. The substance would later be commercialized as adrenaline.

    Main source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia.

    Bibliography

    Perfect Sight Without Glasses. 1920
    Also called The Cure of Imperfect Sight by Treatment Without Glasses.
    New York: Central fixation publishing company, 1920.

    Better Eyesight Without Glasses. 1943.
    A revised version of Perfect Sight Without Glasses, without some of the most controversial points, such as the claim that "perfectly remembering black" is a suitable substitute for anaesthesia, and recommendations to look at the sun.

    Better Eyesight. A magazine published from 1919 to 1930.

    A New Operation for the Alleviation of Persistent Deafness

    An operation consisting of puncturing or incising the ear drum membrane.
    Medical Journal, January 23, 1886: 88-89.

    Multiple Paracentesis of the Membrana Tympani. 1887.

    Improvement in the Vision of Myopia by Treatment Without Glasses. 1891.

    Notes on Spasm of the Accommodation. 1892.

    The vision of a case of myopia improved by treatment without glasses.
    Virginia Medical Monthly, Richmond, 1891-1892, 18: 941-943.

    Treatment of Myopia Without Glasses. Medical Record, New York, 1894, 14: 104-106.

    A Suggestion of an Operation to Correct Astigmatism.
    Archives of Ophthalmology, New York, 1894, 23: 9-13.

    The Use of Extract of Suprarenal Capsule in the Eye.
    The New York Medical Journal, 63, 1896: 647-650.

    Secondary Cataract.
    The Journal of the American Medical Association, Chicago, 1900, 35 (19): 1211-1213.

    The Therapeutic Properties of the Suprarenal Capsule.
    The Journal of the American Medical Association, Chicago, 1900, 35 (6): 346-348.

    The Prevention of Myopia in School Children.
    The New York Medical Journal, July 29, 1911, 94 (5): 237-238.

    The Cause of Myopia
    . The New York Medical Journal, 1912, 95: 529-532.

    Eye Training for the Cure of Functional Myopia.
    The New York Medical Journal, 1912, 95 (20): 1029-1032.

    A Case of Myopic Refraction Relieved by Eye Education
    The Medical Record, New  York, November 9, 1912, 82: 851.

    L'éducation de l'œil dans l'amblyopie ex anopsia. 1912.

    Myopia Prevention by Teachers. 1913.
    The New York Medical Journal, 1913, 98: 410-413.

    De la myopie fonctionnelle. La Clinique ophtalmologique, Paris, 1912, 18: 188-191.

    Fishes' Eyes. 1914.

    The  Cure  of  Defective  Eyesight  by Treatment  Without Glasses; or, The Radical Cure of Errors of Refraction. New York, A. R. Elliott Publ. Co, 1915. 26 pages.

    The radical cure of errors of refraction by means of central fixation.
    The New  York  Medical  Journal, 1915, 101 (19): 925-933.

    Blindness Relieved by a New Method of Treatment. The New York Medical Journal, 1917.

    The Imperfect Sight of the Normal Eye.
    The New York Medical Journal, September 8, 1917: 440-442.

    A Study of the Images Reflected from the Cornea, Iris, Lens, and Sclera.
    The New York Medical Journal, May 18, 1918, 107: 916-924.

    Improving the Sight of Soldiers and Sailors and Relieving Pain. New York, 1918. 7 pages.

    Memory as an Aid to Vision. The New York Medical Journal, May 24, 1919.

    Biographic Notes on Fuchs, Tscherning, and Landolt–The Origin of Spectacles. 1919.
    The Journal of the American Medical Association, September 20, 1919: 930. Letter to the editor.

    Shifting as an Aid to Vision. The New York Medical Journal, Jult 3, 1920.

    Perfect Eyesight Without Glasses. 1920.

    The Cure of Imperfect Sight by Treatment without glasses.
    New York city: Central Fixation  Publishing company, 1920. 313 pages.

    A Clinical and Experimental Study of Physiological Optics. 1921.
    The American Journal of Clinical Medicine, Chicago, July 1921, 26: 437-443.

    Writers Cramp: Its Cause and Cure. 1921.

    Imagination and Vision.
    Journal of the Allied Medical Associations of America, October 1921. Read at 10th Annual Meeting, Allied Medical Associations of America, held in Atlantic City, June, 1921.

    Curing Eyes Without Glasses! 1922.

    Throw away your glasses.
    Hearst's International, September, 1923, 44 (3):  42-43 & 128-132.

    A Study of Imagination. 1923.

    Rechtes  Sehen  ohne  Brille.  Heilung fehlerhaften Sehens durch Behandlung  ohne  Brille.
    Translated from English by Elsbeth Friedrichs. Grimma: P.Schrecker, 1931. 353 pages.

    • Obituary of William H. Bates. New York Times. July 11, 1931.

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