- Email: [email protected]
William J. Dieckmann
Vol.
75, No.
January,
OBSTETRICS
AND
1
1958
GYNECOLOGY In Memoriam
WILLIAM J. DIECKMANN (October 20, 1897-August 15, 1957) R. WILLIAM J. DIECIEMANN died on August 15, 1957. With his going the AMERICAN JOURNAL lost a fine editor and the specialty of Obstetrics and Gynecology one of its greatest modern leaders. Dr. Dieckmann was born in Belleville, Illinois, on October 20, 1897, in a family where education and an intellectual life were regarded as paramount objectives. He received both his undergraduate and medical education at Washington ITniversity in St. Louis and began his professional and academic ca,reer in that institution. In 1931 he went to the University of Chicago as Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, becoming Professor and Chairman of the Department in 1942. This post he held until 1954, when he relinquished his administrative duties in order to devote more of his time to research in his chosen subject of toxemia of pregnancy. Membership in the local and national societies of his specialty came naturally to him and in many he served as an officer. In June, 1953, the Society of (+ynccologic Investigation was founded largely through his efforts. It was the misfortune of this writer not to know Dr. Dieckmann intimately until his later years. Yet his fame and position were clear to all in the specialty. He was known as a precise and sometimes exacting teacher, expecting of the pupil the devotion to the work that he himself was giving. He was the recognized authority in America on the toxemias of pregnancy, his textbook being the acknowledged repository of knowledge on the subject and his own work an example of painstaking search for the facts, carried on for years without the encouragement of spectacular discovery. Although he was a fullt,ime teacher and research worker, his feeling of responsibility for the patient never faltered and his own clinical skill and knowledge were of the highest 01dcr. His insistence on the arrival at the truth by a clear and unromantic
D
2
INMEMOlUAM
Am. J. Obst. 61 Gyncr. January. lQ;q
interpretation of t~he currently available facts led to a certain plainness of speech that sometimes delayed friendship but event.ually produced a wholehearted confidence in his judgment and object.ives. Tn 1936, Dr. Dieckmann joined the staff of the AMERICAN JOURNAL OF OBSTETRICSAND GYNECOLOGY,then under the editorship of the late George Kosmak, as Associate Editor. The writ,er of this note was appointed at the same time, but the two associate editors had little need of personal contact, for, as is well known, Dr. Kosmak was in every way “The Editor” and his associates were content with a relatively minor participation in the work and policy formation of the JOGRNAL. Upon Dr. Kosmak’s retirement to the position of Honorary Editor in January, 1953, Dr. Dieckmann became one of the two “Editors” and immediately set out to reshape JOURNAL activities. The system of personal decision, which had worked so well for a generation under Dr. Kosmak, was changed, so that in many cases manuscripts were aceeptetl or rejected only after consultation. Relat,ions with sponsoring societies were, we believe, improved. The format o-t' the .JOURN~II,,with the enthusiastic cooperation of the publishers, was modernized. Among Dr. Dieekmann’s last acts was the initiation of a plan by which articles published arc to some extent arranged by subject matter and so listed in the table of content,s. During his short term of office, less than five years, t,he editorial policy of the JWRNN. was in strong and dedicated hands. During more than the last decade, Dr. Jjieckmann’s life was a precarious one as a result, of a cardiac condition of which hc was fully awa,rc. Although this situation is by no means uncommon in modern life, it remains an act of no small heroism to carry on, uncomplaining and unflinching, among colleagues whose lives must seem to be at. least relatively secure. When death came, it wa.s sudden, painless, and with no immediately preceding illness. Dr. Dieckmann is survived by his wife, Katherine Morrison Dieckmann, and a daughter, Dorothy Dieckmann Brown. There will be numerous tributes paid to William Dieckmann’s memory. Many of these, especially from his professional associates in Chicago, will come with more authority because of t,he years of contact, Yet his brief period of service on the JOURETALhas left an indelible impression of his earnestness, his purposefulness, his devotion, and his great competency in his own field of medical praetiec. The short years were full and vital ones and we will not forget them. We of the ,JOURKALStaff wish then, proudly if sadly, to proclaim, “We too were his friends. ” Howard C. Taylor, Jv.
75, No.
January,
OBSTETRICS
AND
1
1958
GYNECOLOGY In Memoriam
WILLIAM J. DIECKMANN (October 20, 1897-August 15, 1957) R. WILLIAM J. DIECIEMANN died on August 15, 1957. With his going the AMERICAN JOURNAL lost a fine editor and the specialty of Obstetrics and Gynecology one of its greatest modern leaders. Dr. Dieckmann was born in Belleville, Illinois, on October 20, 1897, in a family where education and an intellectual life were regarded as paramount objectives. He received both his undergraduate and medical education at Washington ITniversity in St. Louis and began his professional and academic ca,reer in that institution. In 1931 he went to the University of Chicago as Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, becoming Professor and Chairman of the Department in 1942. This post he held until 1954, when he relinquished his administrative duties in order to devote more of his time to research in his chosen subject of toxemia of pregnancy. Membership in the local and national societies of his specialty came naturally to him and in many he served as an officer. In June, 1953, the Society of (+ynccologic Investigation was founded largely through his efforts. It was the misfortune of this writer not to know Dr. Dieckmann intimately until his later years. Yet his fame and position were clear to all in the specialty. He was known as a precise and sometimes exacting teacher, expecting of the pupil the devotion to the work that he himself was giving. He was the recognized authority in America on the toxemias of pregnancy, his textbook being the acknowledged repository of knowledge on the subject and his own work an example of painstaking search for the facts, carried on for years without the encouragement of spectacular discovery. Although he was a fullt,ime teacher and research worker, his feeling of responsibility for the patient never faltered and his own clinical skill and knowledge were of the highest 01dcr. His insistence on the arrival at the truth by a clear and unromantic
D
2
INMEMOlUAM
Am. J. Obst. 61 Gyncr. January. lQ;q
interpretation of t~he currently available facts led to a certain plainness of speech that sometimes delayed friendship but event.ually produced a wholehearted confidence in his judgment and object.ives. Tn 1936, Dr. Dieckmann joined the staff of the AMERICAN JOURNAL OF OBSTETRICSAND GYNECOLOGY,then under the editorship of the late George Kosmak, as Associate Editor. The writ,er of this note was appointed at the same time, but the two associate editors had little need of personal contact, for, as is well known, Dr. Kosmak was in every way “The Editor” and his associates were content with a relatively minor participation in the work and policy formation of the JOGRNAL. Upon Dr. Kosmak’s retirement to the position of Honorary Editor in January, 1953, Dr. Dieckmann became one of the two “Editors” and immediately set out to reshape JOURNAL activities. The system of personal decision, which had worked so well for a generation under Dr. Kosmak, was changed, so that in many cases manuscripts were aceeptetl or rejected only after consultation. Relat,ions with sponsoring societies were, we believe, improved. The format o-t' the .JOURN~II,,with the enthusiastic cooperation of the publishers, was modernized. Among Dr. Dieekmann’s last acts was the initiation of a plan by which articles published arc to some extent arranged by subject matter and so listed in the table of content,s. During his short term of office, less than five years, t,he editorial policy of the JWRNN. was in strong and dedicated hands. During more than the last decade, Dr. Jjieckmann’s life was a precarious one as a result, of a cardiac condition of which hc was fully awa,rc. Although this situation is by no means uncommon in modern life, it remains an act of no small heroism to carry on, uncomplaining and unflinching, among colleagues whose lives must seem to be at. least relatively secure. When death came, it wa.s sudden, painless, and with no immediately preceding illness. Dr. Dieckmann is survived by his wife, Katherine Morrison Dieckmann, and a daughter, Dorothy Dieckmann Brown. There will be numerous tributes paid to William Dieckmann’s memory. Many of these, especially from his professional associates in Chicago, will come with more authority because of t,he years of contact, Yet his brief period of service on the JOURETALhas left an indelible impression of his earnestness, his purposefulness, his devotion, and his great competency in his own field of medical praetiec. The short years were full and vital ones and we will not forget them. We of the ,JOURKALStaff wish then, proudly if sadly, to proclaim, “We too were his friends. ” Howard C. Taylor, Jv.