Elmer Belt
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Elmer Belt (April 10, 1893 – May 17, 1980) was an American urologist. He was an early practitioner of
gender-affirming surgery Gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is a surgical procedure, or series of procedures, that alters a person's physical appearance and sexual characteristics to resemble those associated with their gender identity. The phrase is most often associated ...
, an advocate for the founding of
UCLA School of Medicine The UCLA School of Medicine (also known as the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA) is the accredited medical school of the University of California, Los Angeles. Founded in 1951, it is the second medical school in the University of Califor ...
, and a book collector known for assembling a library of research materials about Leonardo da Vinci—the
Elmer Belt Library of Vinciana The Elmer Belt Library of Vinciana is a special collection at the University of California, Los Angeles which focuses on Leonardo da Vinci life, art, thought, and enduring cultural influence. It is the most extensive research collection concerni ...
—which he donated to the
University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...
between 1961-66.


Early life and education

Arthur Elmer Belt was born in Chicago, Illinois, on April 10, 1893. His parents worked for the
United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...
. The family moved to Southern California when Belt was nine. Elmer Belt (the form of name he preferred) received his early education in Orange County, California, and attended
Los Angeles High School Los Angeles High School is the oldest public high school in the Southern California region and in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Its colors are royal blue and white and the teams are called the Romans. Los Angeles High School is a publ ...
, traveling there on horseback. During high school he took courses in Latin, a medical school prerequisite, and met Ruth Smart, whom he married in 1918. Belt started a small book-and-supplies store at the school. This enterprise led him to become acquainted with some of the city's leading booksellers, including Ernest Dawson. Recounting his high school years in a 1979 letter, Belt wrote, "As a Freshman in High School, I learned what an Aldine was and about Gutenberg and his woes and all of the wonderful world of books. When he was a teenager, Belt's father died after undergoing abdominal surgery. When the surgeon informed the family, Belt noticed the smell of alcohol on him and believed the surgeon had botched the surgery while under the influence. This experience led Belt to vow never to drink alcohol.Interview between urologist Stanley Brosman (professional colleague and personal friend of Elmer Belt) and Victoria Steele, February 8, 2021. Belt attended the
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...
, obtaining a B.A. in 1916 and an M.A. in 1917. (He was a member of the first class taught by
Herbert McLean Evans Herbert McLean Evans (September 23, 1882 – March 6, 1971) was an American anatomist and embryologist best known for co-discovering Vitamin E. Education He was born in Modesto, California. In 1908, he obtained his medical degree from Johns Hop ...
.) Belt then attended
UCSF School of Medicine The UCSF School of Medicine is a multisite medical school of the University of California, San Francisco, with a historical campus located at the base of Mount Sutro on the Parnassus Heights campus in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1864 b ...
, where he was chosen to be a fellow of the Hooper Institute for Medical Research, working in urology with Dr.
George Whipple George Hoyt Whipple (August 28, 1878 – February 1, 1976) was an American physician, pathologist, biomedical researcher, and medical school educator and administrator. Whipple shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1934 with George ...
and Dr
Frank Hinman
After completing medical school in 1920, Belt began a residency in Urology under Dr. Hinman. However, when Belt's young son, Charles, was seriously injured in a car accident, Belt sought treatment for him from renowned orthopedist Robert W. Lovett at
Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is the third oldest medical school in the Un ...
. To be closer to his son and provide better care, Belt applied for a residency in General Surgery at the
Peter Bent Brigham Hospital Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH or The Brigham) is a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and the largest hospital in the Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Along with Massachusetts General Hospital, it is one of the two ...
and spent a year working under
Harvey Cushing Harvey Williams Cushing (April 8, 1869 – October 7, 1939) was an American neurosurgery, neurosurgeon, pathologist, writer, and draftsman. A pioneer of brain surgery, he was the first exclusive neurosurgeon and the first person to describe Cush ...
.) While in medical school, Belt took a non-credit elective course in the History of Medicine taught by George W. Corner. It was during this class that Belt developed his lifelong interest in Leonardo da Vinci.


Career

In 1923, Elmer and Ruth Belt moved to Los Angeles, where he began a private practice. In 1936 he established the Elmer Belt Urologic Group, located in its own building at 1893 Wilshire Boulevard. The second floor of the building housed Belt's growing library. During this time, his growing reputation in the field earned him positions as a staff, attending, or consulting urologist at numerous hospitals in Los Angeles County. In addition to specializing in urology, Belt was an advocate for public health and, from 1939 through 1954, served as the President of the State Board of Public Health. First appointed to this position by California Governor Culbert Olsen, Belt was reappointed by Governor
Earl Warren Earl Warren (March 19, 1891 – July 9, 1974) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 30th governor of California from 1943 to 1953 and as the 14th Chief Justice of the United States from 1953 to 1969. The Warren Court presid ...
for each of the latter's three terms in office. In public health, Belt worked to establish the Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant. He also advocated for the care and rights of refugees from the Dust Bowl who had settled in
Tulare County Tulare County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 473,117. The county seat is Visalia. The county is named for Tulare Lake, once the largest freshwater lake west of the Great Lake ...
. During World War II, he advocated for funding to treat sexually transmitted diseases and to address prostitution, which he viewed as significant issues near military camps in the state. Belt was the author of numerous publications about both urology and Leonardo da Vinci


Role in the establishment of the UCLA School of Medicine

From the time he returned to California from Massachusetts in 1923, Belt advocated for the establishment of a medical school at UCLA. Despite his rising status and influence, Belt's efforts were hindered by the economic and political upheavals of the Great Depression and World War II. However, in 1945, after the war, he launched a lobbying campaign with the State Legislature's Appropriations Committee. As Governor Earl Warren’s personal physician, Belt seized the opportunity during a consultation to passionately advocate for the establishment of a medical school under UCLA’s administration. Before leaving Belt's office, Warren pulled out a notebook and outlined a ten-step plan to move the project forward and secure approval from the state legislature. For the final step, he wrote, "Be there to stand behind me when I sign this
legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred ...
." On February 19, 1946, Belt stood alongside other dignitaries as Governor Warren signed a bill allocating $7 million to establish a medical school at UCLA. After the approval of a medical school for UCLA, the next challenge was determining its location—on-campus or off-campus. The Regents' committee on location concluded that no suitable on-campus site was available. Concerned that the school might be placed far away, possibly at the county hospital downtown, Belt took it upon himself to scout
Westwood, Los Angeles Westwood is a commercial and residential neighborhood in the northern central portion of the Westside (Los Angeles County), Westside region of the city of Los Angeles, California. It is the home of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCL ...
for viable land. He identified a nearly vacant 33-acre tract stretching from Wilshire Boulevard to Strathmore Drive and from the western edge of Westwood Village to Veteran Avenue. Dr. Belt consulted Dr. Edward Janss, the developer who had donated the land for UCLA’s campus, and discovered the property was owned by the Veterans Hospital Association. Securing the land would require an act of Congress, which meant drafting a bill to transfer ownership to the University of California. However, the university’s central administration was reluctant to make the request. After persistent efforts, UCLA Chancellor
Clarence Dykstra Clarence Addison Dykstra ( ; February 25, 1883 – May 6, 1950) was a U.S. government administrator. He served as city manager in Cincinnati, Ohio, after teaching government at the University of Chicago. He then became president of the Universit ...
finally agreed to facilitate the transfer with the Veterans Hospital Administration. The bill reached the 81st Congress as the final item on the docket. At this critical juncture, Dr. Belt sought the help of
Edwin W. Pauley Edwin Wendell Pauley Sr. (January 7, 1903 – July 28, 1981) was an American businessman and political leader. Early life Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, to Elbert L. Pauley and the former Ellen Van Petten, he attended Occidental College, in nor ...
. Belt didn’t know Pauley personally, he reached out through Pauley’s wife, who arranged a meeting at their home. After hearing Dr. Belt’s appeal, Pauley called President Truman directly and persuaded him to sign the legislation. This act secured the land transfer from the Veterans Administration to the University of California, paving the way for the medical school’s construction. Belt helped recruit the School of Medicine's first dean, Stafford L. Warren, who was appointed in 1947. In the fall of 1951, the medical school enrolled its first class, which consisted of 30 students—28 men and two women. At this time, there were 15 faculty members, including Belt, who served as Clinical Professor of Surgery (Urology). In 1955 the university completed work on the UCLA Medical Center, giving the Medical School a permanent home. Not long afterwards, University of California President
Robert Gordon Sproul Robert Gordon Sproul ( ; May 22, 1891 – September 10, 1975) was the first system-wide president (1952–1958) of the University of California system, and a president (11th) of the University of California, Berkeley, serving from 1930 to 195 ...
characterized Belt as "The Life Belt of the UCLA Medical School." Belt remained a staunch supporter of the School for the rest of his life.


Gender-affirming surgery

Belt may have been the first surgeon in the United States to perform
gender-affirming surgery Gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is a surgical procedure, or series of procedures, that alters a person's physical appearance and sexual characteristics to resemble those associated with their gender identity. The phrase is most often associated ...
, which he was likely doing by 1950. However, ascertaining exactly when he did them is not possible because a fire in Belt's medical office in 1958 destroyed many, if not all, records prior to that year. The surgeries were performed at Good Samaritan Hospital, where Belt's Urologic Group's surgical practice was conducted; he did not perform them at UCLA. Belt was the uncle of Willard Elmer Goodwin, M.D. (1915-1998) who, in 1951, was the founding chair of the Division of Urology in the Department of Surgery at the UCLA School of Medicine. Belt trained his nephew in the techniques of gender-affirming surgery. In 1954 a committee of UCLA doctors, including Goodwin and members of the Psychiatry Department, decided that these surgeries should no longer be performed under the aegis of the university. However, Goodwin continued to perform them quietly. At the end of 1954, Belt temporarily ceased his transgender surgeries, but resumed them in the late 1950s. Belt received referrals from
Harry Benjamin Harry Benjamin (January 12, 1885 – August 24, 1986) was a German-American endocrinologist and sexologist, widely known for his clinical work with transgender people. Early life and career Benjamin was born in Berlin, and raised in a German ...
; Dr. LeMon Clark, professor of Gynecology at the University of Arkansas and editor of '' Sexology Magazine;'' and others. Many prospective corresponded directly with Belt. Belt performed male-to-female operations. One of his best known patients was Patricia Morgan. In early 1962, facing pressure from his wife, his son Bruce, and his office manager, Belt decided to stop performing gender-affirming surgery. Along with these pressures, he feared the risk of a lawsuit from a dissatisfied patient that could jeopardize his practice. Additionally, it was becoming increasingly difficult to find hospitals willing to accommodate gender-affirming surgeries. Knowing that other doctors, such as Goodwin and
Georges Burou Georges Burou (6 September 1910 – 17 December 1987) was a French gynecologist who managed a clinic in Casablanca, Morocco, and is widely credited with innovating modern sex reassignment surgery for trans women. Notable patients include Coccine ...
, could take on these patients, Belt ultimately chose to refer them elsewhere.


Book and manuscript collecting

A lifelong bibliophile, Belt began collecting books as a child. By his mid-teens, he had assembled a prized collection of comic books and dime novels. Belt's mother discarded the collection when he went to college—a loss he lamented for the rest of his life. Belt also collected works by his patient
Upton Sinclair Upton Beall Sinclair Jr. (September 20, 1878 – November 25, 1968) was an American author, muckraker journalist, and political activist, and the 1934 California gubernatorial election, 1934 Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...
and, in 1934, supported Sinclair's campaign for governor of California. Belt donated his Upton Sinclair collection to
Occidental College Occidental College (informally Oxy) is a private liberal arts college in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1887 as a coeducational college by clergy and members of the Presbyterian Church, it became non-sectarian in 1910. It is ...
Library. In addition, Belt formed collections around Silas Weir Mitchell and
Florence Nightingale Florence Nightingale (; 12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English Reform movement, social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during th ...
. He donated both collections to the Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library at UCLA. In 2014 the remainder of Belt's collection was sold at auction including an illuminated manuscript by
Dante Gabriel Rossetti Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti (12 May 1828 – 9 April 1882), generally known as Dante Gabriel Rossetti ( ; ), was an English poet, illustrator, painter, translator, and member of the Rossetti family. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brother ...
of
The Blessed Damozel "The Blessed Damozel" is perhaps the best known poem by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, as well as the title of his painting (and its replica) illustrating the subject. The poem was first published in 1850 in the Pre-Raphaelite journal '' The Germ''. Ro ...
by Alberto Sangorski; California mission etchings by
Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American Technological and industrial history of the United States, industrialist and business magnate. As the founder of the Ford Motor Company, he is credited as a pioneer in making automob ...
; a handwritten manuscript by
Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, and public intellectual. He had influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, and various areas of analytic ...
and a signed ''Sierra Nevada: The John Muir Trail'' by
Ansel Adams Ansel Easton Adams (February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984) was an American landscape photographer and environmentalist known for his Monochrome photography, black-and-white images of the American West. He helped found Group f/64, an association ...
.


The Elmer Belt Library of Vinciana

Belt’s Leonardo da Vinci collection was his most significant undertaking as a collector, with the goal of creating the world’s most comprehensive collection on Leonardo.His efforts focused on acquiring facsimiles of Leonardo’s works in all available editions, as well as books that Leonardo is known to have consulted, specifically in the same editions that the artist himself used—an assemblage referred to as "Leonardo’s Library." He also collected early art history books, including key works like ''
Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects ''The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects'' () is a series of artist biographies written by 16th-century Italian painter and architect Giorgio Vasari, which is considered "perhaps the most famous, and even today the ...
'', as well as modern scholarly literature exploring Leonardo’s influence in the arts and sciences. Among the highlights of his collection were all printed editions of '' A Treatise on Painting'', two manuscript versions predating the first printed edition, and a selection of graphic arts materials, such as prints inspired by Leonardo’s "grotesques." Beginning in the 1930s, Dr. Belt worked closely with
Jacob Zeitlin Jacob Israel Zeitlin (November 4, 1902 – August 30, 1987) was an American bookseller, publisher, collector, poet and intellectual in Los Angeles in the mid-twentieth century. Early life and career Jacob Zeitlin was born in Racine, Wisconsi ...
, who acted as Belt's agent in sourcing and acquiring materials for this collection. By 1945, the Leonardo collection had grown to the extent that Belt hired a full-time librarian, his former patient Kate Steinitz, to manage it. In installments between 1961 and 1966, Belt donated his Leonardo da Vinci collection to UCLA on the condition that the University maintain his collection and not integrate it with the rest of the library's holdings. In 2011, a fiftieth anniversary tribute to Belt was held at the Department of Special Collections. From 1966 to 2002, the Elmer Belt Library of Vinciana was housed in a suite of rooms within the Art Library in Dickson Art Center. The wood-paneled rooms were furnished with Renaissance furniture, antiques, artwork, and art objects donated by the Kress Foundation and
Norton Simon Norton Winfred Simon (February 5, 1907 – June 2, 1993) was an American industrialist and philanthropist. He was at one time one of the wealthiest men in America. At the time of his death, he had amassed a net worth of nearly US$10 billion. S ...
. In 2002, counter to the terms of the gift, the Elmer Belt Library of Vinciana was integrated into UCLA Library Special Collections.


Personal life

Belt married the former Mary Ruth Smart (1892-1983) in 1918. Like her husband, Ruth (her preferred name), attended the University of California, Berkeley. After graduating, she attended a full-time program in library science organized by the University Library and offered under the College of Letters and Science. After they settled permanently in Los Angeles in 1923, she became a social and cultural leader in the city. She served on the Los Angeles Library Commission and the Opera Guild of Southern California. She also was president of the UCLA Art Council and helped launch major fundraising events for that group. In 1959, she led a drive to add 35 cents for the city tax rate to help support the city's public elementary schools. She was as well a founding director of the World Affairs Council and national vice president of the Travelers Aid Society. She died on January 9, 1983. The Belts had two sons, Charles Elmer Belt (1919-1994), and Bruce Gregory Belt (1926-2012), who also became a urologist, practicing medicine in the Elmer Belt Urological Group for 20 years before leaving medicine in 1977 to teach at the Brentwood School. Belt's sister Olive married Willard Goodwin, Sr. Their son Willard Goodwin, M.D. (1915-1998), was founding chair of the Division of Urology in the Department of Surgery at the UCLA School of Medicine. Like his uncle, Goodwin performed gender-affirming surgeries. He was also known for his work in organ and graft transplantation. Th
Belt Residence
was located at 2201 Fern Dell Place in
Los Feliz, California Los Feliz (; Spanish for "The Féliz (family)", ) is a hillside neighborhood in the greater Hollywood area of Los Angeles, California, abutting Hollywood and encompassing part of the Santa Monica Mountains. The neighborhood is named after the Fe ...
. Not long after suffering a stroke, Belt died on May 17, 1980, at age 87.


Awards and honors

*1951: honorary
Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...
key *1952: Italian Silver Star of Solidarity *1962: honorary Doctor of Laws degree, University of California, Los Angeles *1964: University Service Award, University of California Alumni Association *1967: President, Society for the History of Technology *1972: Sir Thomas More Medal for Book Collecting,
University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded in 1855, it has nearly 9,000 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees ...
*1976: American Urologic Association, for contributions to the History of Urology and to the Forum *1977: Aesculapian Award, University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine


Archival sources

* Elmer Belt Papers 1920-1980, bulk 1958-1978. Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library History and Special Collections for the Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles. Opened for research 2010. http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt2199r6k1/admin/?query=Belt%20(Elmer)%20papers#acqinfo-1.2.6 **Note: the papers contain very little prior to 1958. In that year, a fire in Belt's medical offices seem destroyed almost everything dated earlier than 1958. in addition, access is restricted for some materials owing to patient or legal confidentiality protocols. *Elmer Belt Papers. Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA. Unprocessed collection. 286 boxes. * The Harry Benjamin Collection, Library and Special Collections,The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction, Indiana University, Bloomington. http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/findingaids/view?brand=general&docId=VAC1594&chunk.id=d1e76&startDoc=1 * Willard E. Goodwin papers, 1915-1998, bulk 1915-1998. Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA. Opened for research 2007. http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt367nd8mf/?query=Goodwin+(Willard+E.)+papers * Robert J. Stoller Papers, 1942-1991. Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA. http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/tf5s2006mg/admin/?query=Robert%20Stoller#descgrp-1.8.2


Digital sources


Dr.Elmer Belt
Tate.
The Elmer Belt Library of Vinciana
Internet Archive.
Elmer Belt collection of Vinciana graphic arts
Online Archive of California. * Zagria. ''A Gender Variance Who's Who.'' https://zagria.blogspot.com/2019/03/elmer-belt-1893-1980-urologist-pioneer.html


Printed sources

Arthur, Ransom. ''By the Old Pacific's Rolling Water: Birth of the UCLA School of Medicine.'' Los Angeles: School of Medicine, University of California, 1992. Belt, Elmer. "Elmer Belt." In ''There Was Light: Autobiography of a University, Berkeley: 1868-1968,'' edited by Irving Stone, 353-367. New York: Doubleday, 1970. Marmor, Max. "The Elmer Belt Library of Vinciana." ''The Book Collector,'' 38, no. 3 (Autumn 1989): 1-23. Meyerowitz, Joanne. ''How Sex Changed: A History of Transsexuality in the United States.'' Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2002. Pedretti, Carlo. ''Leonardo da Vinci: Studies for a Nativity and the 'Mona Lisa Cartoon' with Drawings after Leonardo from the Elmer Belt Library of Vinciana: Exhibition in Honour of Elmer Belt, M.D. on the Occasion of his Eightieth Birthday.'' Los Angeles: University of California, 1973. ''Surgeon and Bibliophile: Elmer Belt.'' Oral History Transcript; interviewed by Esther de Vécsey between 1974-75. Los Angeles: Oral History Program, University of California, Los Angeles, 1983.


Notes

* Stanley Brosman, urologist and close friend of Elmer Belt, supplied personal memories about Elmer Belt that added to the accuracy of this entry. Interview on February 8, 2021. * Arthur Schapiro, urologist, colleague, and friend of Elmer Belt, also supplied, through numerous exchanges between 2019 and 2021, supplied much critical information and help in creating this entry.


References


External links


The Elmer Belt Library of Vinciana
{{DEFAULTSORT:Belt, Elmer 1893 births 1980 deaths 20th-century American surgeons American bibliophiles American book and manuscript collectors American urologists David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA faculty History of medicine Surgeons specializing in transgender medicine University of California, Berkeley alumni Culbert Olson administration personnel