This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.
Abstract
Robert Wartenberg (1887–1956) was born in Grodno (in present-day Belarus) and received his medical degree in Germany in 1919. He enjoyed a productive career at the University of Freiburg until 1935, when he fled Nazi Germany for the United States. Bernard Sachs, with whom he had worked during a Rockefeller fellowship in 1926, helped him secure a position at the University of California Medical Center in San Francisco in 1936. He was popular with students there as his sizeable personality translated into an engaging classroom style, but that same personality could create friction with colleagues. Following World War II, neurology as a specialty was growing and establishing its place in the medical landscape. With this goal in mind, A.B. Baker and other young neurologic leaders formed the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) in 1948 as an inclusive professional society. Baker recruited Wartenberg to join, he agreed, and immediately provided his own critiques on the organization. Wartenberg's standing in the academic community combined with his strong personality would serve Baker well as Wartenberg shielded the young AAN leadership from potential retribution. He was especially invested in ensuring the Academy had a journal as a means of development, and the journal Neurology® was born. Wartenberg died on November 16, 1956, and was honored for his service to the Academy with the Robert Wartenberg Memorial Lecture, which stands today as one of the principal events at the Annual Meeting.
Glossary
- AAN=
- American Academy of Neurology;
- ANA=
- American Neurologic Association;
- UCSF=
- University of California San Francisco
Footnotes
Go to Neurology.org/N for full disclosures. Funding information and disclosures deemed relevant by the authors, if any, are provided at the end of the article.
- Received January 22, 2021.
- Accepted in final form April 14, 2021.
- © 2021 American Academy of Neurology
AAN Members
We have changed the login procedure to improve access between AAN.com and the Neurology journals. If you are experiencing issues, please log out of AAN.com and clear history and cookies. (For instructions by browser, please click the instruction pages below). After clearing, choose preferred Journal and select login for AAN Members. You will be redirected to a login page where you can log in with your AAN ID number and password. When you are returned to the Journal, your name should appear at the top right of the page.
AAN Non-Member Subscribers
Purchase access
Letters: Rapid online correspondence
REQUIREMENTS
You must ensure that your Disclosures have been updated within the previous six months. Please go to our Submission Site to add or update your Disclosure information.
Your co-authors must send a completed Publishing Agreement Form to Neurology Staff (not necessary for the lead/corresponding author as the form below will suffice) before you upload your comment.
If you are responding to a comment that was written about an article you originally authored:
You (and co-authors) do not need to fill out forms or check disclosures as author forms are still valid
and apply to letter.
Submission specifications:
- Submissions must be < 200 words with < 5 references. Reference 1 must be the article on which you are commenting.
- Submissions should not have more than 5 authors. (Exception: original author replies can include all original authors of the article)
- Submit only on articles published within 6 months of issue date.
- Do not be redundant. Read any comments already posted on the article prior to submission.
- Submitted comments are subject to editing and editor review prior to posting.
