Walter Bradford Cannon papers

Walter Bradford Cannon (1871-1945), 1896, A.B., Harvard College, Cambridge, Massachusetts; 1897, A.M., Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; 1900, M.D., Harvard Medical School) contributed to the development of the fields of physiology and medicine from approximately 1900 to 1940. Cannon taught at Harvard Medical School from his time as a student until 1942, when he retired as George Higginson Professor of Physiology, Emeritus. He is known for his work on the emotions and the nervous system, and for coining the terms “fight or flight” and “homeostasis.”

Walter Bradford Cannon was born on October 19, 1871 in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, to Colbert Hanchett Cannon, a railroad official, and Wilma (Denio) Cannon, a high school teacher. Cannon was identified as white in the 1940 U.S. Census. Cannon left school to work in a railway office for two years, then returned to school, graduating from St. Paul High School, Minnesota, in three years. Cannon left St. Paul, Minnesota when he was almost twenty-one to matriculate as a freshman at Harvard College. He remained at Harvard for the rest of his career, receiving an A.B. in 1896, an A.M. in 1897, and an M.D. in 1900. As a student, Cannon held positions at Radcliffe and Harvard Colleges as Proctor and Zoology Instructor. He was appointed Instructor in Physiology at Harvard Medical School after graduating, and he was promoted to Assistant Professor of Physiology in 1902. In 1906, he succeeded Henry Pickering Bowditch (1840-1911) as the second George Higginson Professor of Physiology and Chairman of the Department of Physiology. In 1942, he retired and became Professor Emeritus.

Cannon was primarily a physiologist, but he also contributed to the fields of radiology, gastroenterology, endocrinology, psychology and psychiatry, pharmacology, neurology, research surgery, and clinical medicine. His scientific research followed a progression which began as a first-year medical student with studies on the digestive tract and led to further work on gastrointestinal motility, effects of emotional excitement on bodily functions, adrenal secretions, and the formulation of his emergency theory (the “fight or flight” response). After interruption by World War I--at which time Cannon concentrated on wound shock (shock) and a circulation-based method of treatment while working in field laboratories and hospitals in France and England, denervated heart experiments led to work on the sympathetic nervous system which resulted in his concept of self-regulation of physiologic processes, or homeostasis. The denervated heart experiments also led to study of the chemical transmission of nerve impulses and the discovery of the two sympathins. Cannon also studied: techniques for using X-rays to study digestion; the physiological response (the sympathoadrenal system) to emotional arousal; homeostasis; and chemical neurotransmission. Cannon's last years were devoted to study of the parasympathetic and somatic systems and to the central nervous system. Cannon and his coworkers published monographs based on their research, summarizing the continuous stream of technical papers from the Harvard Medical School Physiology Laboratory. His books include: Bodily Changes in Pain, Hunger, Fear and Rage (1915), Traumatic Shock (1923), The Wisdom of the Body (1932), Digestion and Health (1937), and The Way of the Investigator: A Scientist’s Experiences in Medical Research (1945). He also published many articles.

Cannon defended scientific experimentation, advocating against anti-vivisection (anti-animal experimentation). He also believed in defending scientists in countries under fascist rule, leading organizations like the Medical Bureau to Aid Spanish Democracy and the American-Soviet Medical Society (President, 1943) (1). He was officer, committee chairman, adviser, or active member of many organizations, foundations and funds, scientific and otherwise, with affiliations including: Committee on Physiology (Chairman), National Research Council; American Association for the Advancement of Science (President, 1939); Section on Physiology and Pathology (Chairman), American Medical Association; American Physiological Society (President, 1914-1916); Anglo-American Medical Society (American President, 1917-1918); and Medical Research Committee (Chairman, 1917-1918), American Red Cross. He served in the Medical Corps of the U.S. Army in World War I and in an advisory capacity to the U.S. Government in World War II. He provided medical aid to war-torn countries and relief for suffering refugees. Cannon received many medals, awards, honorary degrees (including a Sc.D. from Harvard in 1937), and honorary fellowships (including from the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences) during his career. He declined offers of deanships at Harvard Medical School in 1908 and 1916, preferring to focus on research; he used high-profile offers from other institutions as leverage for changes he wanted to see at Harvard Medical School (2). Despite failing health due to his early radiation exposure, Cannon continued his research, teaching, and organizational duties after retirement. A complete bibliography of Cannon's prolific writings is available in The Life and Contributions of Walter Bradford Cannon, edited by C.M. Brooks, K. Koizomi, and J.O. Pinkston (State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center, 1975, pages 239-263). The bibliography also includes a list of obituaries and articles about Cannon.

Cannon married Cornelia James (1876-1969), a novelist who also advocated for birth-control on eugenics and women’s-rights grounds (3, 4), on June 21, 1901. They had five children: Bradford Cannon (born circa 1908-2006), who performed reconstructive plastic surgeries for patients with severe burns; Wilma Cannon Fairbank (born 1909); Linda Cannon Burgess (born circa 1910); Marian Cannon Schlesinger (1912-2017), a feminist and painter; and Helen Cannon Bond (born 1915). Walter died on October 1, 1945, in Franklin, New Hampshire, where he and Cornelia owned a vacation home. His cause of death was mycosis fungoides, from which he had suffered for almost fifteen years as a result of over-exposure to X-rays during his early experiments on digestion.

1. Brown, Theodore, and Margaret Fee. “Walter Bradford Cannon: Pioneer Physiologist of Human Emotions.” American Journal of Public Health 92, no. 10 (October 2002): 1594–95.

2. Benison, Saul, A. Clifford Barger, and Elin L. Wolfe. Walter B. Cannon: The Life and Times of a Young Scientist. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press, 1987.

3. Diedrich, Maria. “Cannon, Cornelia James.” In American National Biography, 1999. https://doi.org/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1500999.

4. Roberts, Sam. “Marian Cannon Schlesinger, Author and Eyewitness to History, Dies at 105.” New York Times, October 17, 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/17/obituaries/marian-schlesinger-dead-author-and-eyewitness-to-history.html.

1871

born on Oct 19 at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin

1885

left school to work in railway office for two years

1891

graduated in three years from St. Paul High School, St. Paul, Minnesota

1892

entered freshman class of Harvard College, Cambridge, Massachusetts

1896

graduated summa cum laude and awarded B.A. degree; entered Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts

1897

recorded first observation by means of X-rays of movements of the stomach;

1897

awarded M.A. degree

1899-1900

taught course at Harvard and Radcliffe, Cambridge, Massachusetts on comparative anatomy of vertebrates

1900

awarded M.D. degree (cum laude);

1900

appointed instructor in physiology at Harvard Medical School;

1900

publication of article on application of case method to teaching of medicine

1901

married on June 25 to Cornelia James

1902

appointed assistant professor in physiology at Harvard Medical School

1904

became member of American Association for the Advancement of Science

1906

offered positions at Cornell University Medical School, New York, New York and Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota;

1906

succeeded H.P. Bowditch as George Higginson Professor of Physiology at Harvard Medical School;

1906

elected fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences

1908

became chairman of Section on Physiology and Pathology of American Medical Association;

1908

became chairman of Committee for the Protection of Medical Research;

1908

declined deanship at Harvard Medical School

1910

publication of A Laboratory Course in Physiology

1911

publication of The Mechanical Factors of Digestion

1913

declined deanship at University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, Minnesota

1914

elected to National Academy of Sciences

1914-1916

served as President of American Physiological Society

1915

publication of Bodily Changes in Pain, Hunger, Fear and Rage;

1915

appointed trustee of Elizabeth Thompson Science Fund

1916

declined deanship at Harvard Medical School

1917-1918

served with AEF in England and France during World War I;

1917-1918

American President of Anglo-American Medical Society;

1917-1918

member of Special Investigation Committee on Surgical Shock and Allied Problems of English Medical Research Committee;

1917-1918

chairman of Medical Research Committee of American Red Cross

1918

delivered Croonian lecture to Royal Society, London, England

1919

created Commander of the Order of the Bath

1920

declined offer of position as research physiologist at Mayo Clinic

1921

joined Committee for Research on Sex Problems of National Research Council

1922

awarded DSM as director of physiological research for AEF in France

1923

publication of Traumatic Shock;

1923

awarded honorary degree by Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut;

1923

first meeting with I.P. Pavlov who visited U.S.

1927

joined Medical Fellowship Board of National Research Council

1929

awarded honorary degree by Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts;

1929

in charge of arrangements for 13th International Congress of Physiologists held in Boston

1930

served as exchange professor in France for second half of 1929-1930 academic year;

1930

visited Spain;

1930

awarded honorary degrees by University of Liege, Belgium and University of Strasbourg, France;

1930

elected foreign honorary fellow of Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland;

1930

delivered Linacre lecture at Cambridge, England;

1930

awarded $175,000 grant from Rockefeller Foundation for research in physiology

1931

celebration of 25th anniversary as Higginson Professor of Physiology;

1931

awarded honorary degree by University of Paris, France;

1931

awarded Baly Medal by Royal College of Physicians;

1931

beginning of skin trouble later diagnosed as mycosis fungoides

1932

publication of The Wisdom of the Body

1933

delivered lectures for Beaumont Centennial celebration

1934

awarded Gold Medal by National Institute of Social Sciences;

1934

elected to honorary membership in Physiological Society (England);

1934

delivered Kober lectures to Association of American Physicians;

1934

delivered Caldwell lecture to American Roentgen Ray Society

1935

visiting professor at Peking Union Medical College, China;

1935

attended 15th International Congress of Physiologists in Russia

1936

appointed to Board of Scientific Directors of Rockefeller Institute;

1936

became chairman of Committee on Endocrinology of National Research Council;

1936

elected corresponding member, National Academy of Medicine, Argentina;

1936

elected honorary foreign member, Royal Belgian Academy of Medicine;

1936

elected honorary member of New York Academy of Medicine;

1936

awarded honorary degree by Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri;

1936

delivered address to American College of Physicians in Detroit, Michigan;

1936

delivered address at 100th anniversary of Emory University, Atlanta;, Georgia

1936

publication of Digestion and Health

1937

publication of Autonomic Neuro-Effector Systems (with Arturo Rosenblueth);

1937

awarded honorary degree by Harvard University;

1937

became chairman of Spanish Medical Bureau

1939

served as President of American Association for the Advancement of Science;

1939

elected to foreign membership of Royal Society, London, England;

1939

elected honorary foreign member of Royal Swedish Academy of Science;

1939

became member of China Medical Board;

1939

delivered Hughlings Jackson memorial lecture at Toronto, Canada;

1939

attended 50th anniversary of University of Minnesota Medical School

1940

became chairman of Committee on Shock and Transfusion of National Research Council;

1940

delivered address at 50th anniversary of Stanford University, Palo Alto, California

1941

chairman of Medical Division, United China Relief;

1941

awarded Friedenwald Medal by American Gastroenterological Association;

1941

Hitchcock visiting professor at University of California

1942

became foreign secretary of National Academy of Science and chairman of Foreign Relations Division of National Research Council;

1942

retired and became professor emeritus at Harvard Medical School;

1942

elected honorary member of Academy of Sciences of USSR

1943

President of American-Soviet Medical Society

1944

visiting professor at New York University Medical School, New York, New York

1945

visiting investigator at Institute of Cardiology, Mexico City Mexico;

1945

publication of The Way of an Investigator;

1945

awarded honorary degree by New York University;

1945

died on Oct 1 at Franklin, New Hampshire

1949

posthumous publication of The Super-Sensitivity of Denervated Structures (completed by Arturo Rosenblueth)