Robert J. White

For other people named Robert White, see Robert White (disambiguation).

Robert J. White
Born	Robert Joseph White (1926-01-21)January 21, 1926 Duluth, Minnesota, U.S.
Died	September 16, 2010(2010-09-16) (aged 84) Geneva Township, Ashtabula County, Ohio, U.S.
Nationality	American
Education	University of St. Thomas (B.S., 1951) Harvard Medical School (M.D., 1953) University of Minnesota (PhD, Neurosurgery, 1962)
Occupation	Neurosurgeon
Religion	Roman Catholic

Robert Joseph White (January 21, 1926 – September 16, 2010) was an American neurosurgeon, best known for his head transplants on living monkeys.

Biography

White was raised in Duluth, Minnesota, by his mother and an aunt. His father was killed in combat while serving in the Pacific theater during World War II.

White began his undergraduate studies at the University of St. Thomas before entering the University of Minnesota Medical School in 1949; he later transferred to Harvard Medical School in 1951, where he earned his medical degree cum laude in 1953.

Throughout his career, White performed over 10,000 surgical operations and authored more than 900 publications on clinical neurosurgery, medical ethics, and health care. He received honorary doctorates from John Carroll University (Doctor of Science, 1979), Cleveland State University (Doctor of Science, 1980), Walsh University (Doctor of Humane Letters, 1996), and University of St. Thomas (Doctor of Sciences, 1998).

White had ten children with his wife, Patricia Murray, a nurse whom he met at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital while completing his surgical internship and residency. A devout Roman Catholic, White was a member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. He attended mass regularly and prayed before performing surgeries. White died at his home in Geneva on September 16, 2010, aged 84, after suffering from diabetes and prostate cancer.

He nicknamed himself Humble Bob. White founded Metro's neurosurgery department. Many people know him for being the leading target for protestors. A giant banquet was held in honor of him and all of his hard work as a neurosurgeon. Public figures called him Mr. Butcher.

Research

In 1973, after a long series of preliminary experiments, White performed a transplant of one monkey head onto the body of another monkey, although it lasted just a few days. Because the surgery included severing the spine at the neck, the subjects were all paralyzed from the neck down. The animals were killed after being studied.

For 40 years, White was a neurological surgery professor for Case Western Reserve University medical school^{[citation needed]}. He was one of the best known neurosurgeons in the United States.

Bibliography

• The Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Yearbook 2008. Vatican City: The Holy See. 2008. p. 393. ISBN 88-7761-095-9 . Retrieved February 4, 2011. 
• Interview at LitmusZine.com (not working)
• White's Anatomy (not working)
• The Frankenstein Factor
• Frankenstein fears after head transplant
• VBS.tv documentary
• Journalist and author Oriana Fallaci wrote "The Dead Body and the Living Brain" (Look, 26, 1967, pgs 99–105) based on White's experimentation on primates; in turn, this was included in the 2010 book edited by philosopher Tom Regan and theologian Andrew Linzey, Other Nations: Animals in Modern Literature.