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Austen Fox Riggs

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Austen Fox Riggs
Portrait of Riggs made in 1913
Born(1876-12-12)December 12, 1876
Kassel, Germany
DiedMarch 5, 1940(1940-03-05) (aged 63)
Stockbridge, Massachusetts
CitizenshipUnited States
Education
OccupationPsychoanalyst
OrganizationAusten Riggs Center
TitleMedical Director
Term1913–1940
Predecessorposition established
SuccessorCharles H. Kimberly
SpouseAlice McBurney Riggs
Children4

Austen Fox Riggs (December 12, 1876 – March 5, 1940) was an American psychiatrist and pioneering researcher in stress response. In 1913, he founded the Austen Riggs Center, a psychiatric treatment facility in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.[1][2]

Biography

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Austen Fox Riggs was born on December 12, 1876, in Kassel, Germany, to American parents, Benjamin C. Riggs and Rebecca (Fox) Riggs.[3] He attended Harvard University and received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1898. He then attended the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons to receive his M.D. in 1902.[4][5] He completed further post-graduate work at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 1904.[3]

In 1907, Riggs was recovering from tuberculosis at his Stockbridge, Massachusetts, home when he began furthering his understanding of psychiatry and psychology. In 1913, he established the Stockbridge Institute for the Study and Treatment of Psychoneuroses, a mental health facility for voluntary admittance patients. In 1919, it was renamed to the Austen Riggs Foundation, and today is known as the Austen Riggs Center.[6] Riggs served as its president and medical director until his death in 1940 due to illness.[5]

Publications

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  • Talks to patients, I–III (1916)
  • Just Nerves (1922) – with introduction by Henry Van Dyke
  • Intelligent Living (1929)
  • Play: Recreation in a Balanced Life (1935)

Personal life

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In April 1904, Riggs married Alice McBurney Riggs, and they had three daughters and a son together. She died in 1970.[7]

References

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  1. ^ Millet, John A. P. (1969). "Austen Fox Riggs: His Significance to American Psychiatry of Today". Am J Psychiatry. 125 (7): 948–953. doi:10.1176/ajp.125.7.948.
  2. ^ [1] [permanent dead link‍]
  3. ^ a b Riggs, John Beverley (1939). "Austen Fox Riggs, M.D.". The Riggs family of Maryland; a genealogical and historical record, including a study of the several families in England. Baltimore: The Lord Baltimore Press. p. 358. OCLC 9678773.
  4. ^ "Riggs, Austen Fox". Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine. 16 (6): 428. June 1940. PMC 1911593.
  5. ^ a b "Dr. Austen F. Riggs Dies in 64th Year". North Adams Transcript. March 5, 1940. p. 3. Archived from the original on October 12, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  6. ^ "History". Austen Riggs Center. 2019. Archived from the original on October 9, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  7. ^ "Mrs. Austen Fox Riggs, 93, Widow of Hospital Founder". The Berkshire Eagle (Obituary). April 9, 1970. p. 14. Archived from the original on March 7, 2021. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
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