Robert Abbe (April 13, 1851 – March 7, 1928) was an American

surgeon In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...

and pioneer

radiologist Radiology ( ) is the medical specialty that uses medical imaging to diagnose diseases and guide treatment within the bodies of humans and other animals. It began with radiography (which is why its name has a root referring to radiation), but tod ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He was born in New York City and educated at the College of the City of New York (S.B., 1871) and

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

(M.D., 1874). Abbe was most known as a plastic surgeon, and between 1877 and 1884 he served as a surgeon and professor of surgery at

New York Hospital Weill Cornell Medical Center (; previously known as New York Hospital, Old New York Hospital, and City Hospital) is a research hospital in New York City. It is the teaching hospital for Cornell University's medical school and is part of NewYork-P ...

, St. Luke's Hospital, and New York Babies Hospital. During this time, he would spend summers travelling, and he amassed a large collection of Native American artifacts and

archeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeology ...

materials. He is credited with the lip switch flap, which now bears his name. An Italian surgeon named Sabattini described the flap 60 years earlier. Although Sabattini published his technique, it was printed in a book with a limited circulation. He died of

anemia Anemia (also spelt anaemia in British English) is a blood disorder in which the blood has a reduced ability to carry oxygen. This can be due to a lower than normal number of red blood cells, a reduction in the amount of hemoglobin availabl ...

, possibly due to his work handling

radium Radium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Ra and atomic number 88. It is the sixth element in alkaline earth metal, group 2 of the periodic table, also known as the alkaline earth metals. Pure radium is silvery-white, ...

Radiologist

Abbe was a renowned surgeon and medical pioneer. He was an attending surgeon at Roosevelt Hospital (now

Mount Sinai West Mount Sinai West, opened in 1871 as Roosevelt Hospital, is affiliated with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Mount Sinai Health System. The 514-bed facility is located in the Midtown West neighborhood of New York City. The fa ...

) in New York, where the plastic surgical laboratory is named for him. He was a lecturer and fellow of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia and Vice President of the Academy of Medicine. He befriended the Curies, and in particular

Marie Curie Maria Salomea Skłodowska-Curie (; ; 7 November 1867 – 4 July 1934), known simply as Marie Curie ( ; ), was a Polish and naturalised-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She was List of female ...

. He collected many photographs of her, documented the production of

, and explored, with her, the medical uses of radiation and

x-ray An X-ray (also known in many languages as Röntgen radiation) is a form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than those of ultraviolet rays and longer than those of gamma rays. Roughly, X-rays have a wavelength ran ...

s. In 1904, he introduced the practice of using radiation to treat cancer and founded the science of

radiation oncology Radiation therapy or radiotherapy (RT, RTx, or XRT) is a treatment using ionizing radiation, generally provided as part of cancer therapy to either kill or control the growth of malignant cells. It is normally delivered by a linear particle a ...

. In 1927, he founded the Abbe Museum of Native American artifacts. In 1904, after corresponding with Professor and Madame Curie, he visited their laboratories in Paris. Joining in their groundbreaking research, he became the founder of radiation therapy in the United States. He was a vigorous opponent of the use of tobacco which he considered a cause of cancer and reported over 100 cases of smoker's cancer. In later years, at his Bar Harbor summer home, "Brook End," Abbe created a garden in whose pool floated two swans – Pierre and Marie.

Museum

Abbe has been called "the best-loved summer resident of Bar Harbor." Those who knew him recognized his unique spirit, and many who visit the Museum today feel the specialness of the man and the museum. While summering in Bar Harbor, Abbe was fascinated by the ancient Native American tools found in nearby shell heaps. As he began collecting these artifacts, he realized the need for safe permanent storage. Even during a long illness, probably a result of his exposure to radium, he labored to establish the museum. His dreams of a museum became reality with the help of friends such as

George Dorr George Bucknam Dorr (December 29, 1853 – August 5, 1944) was an American preservationist. Known as the "father of Acadia National Park,"

and Charles Eliot, the founding fathers of Acadia National Park. The dedication of the museum on August 14, 1928, was also a memorial to Robert Abbe. He had died just five months before. Abbe Museum - exterior1

Abbe amassed a sizeable collection of Native American archaeological material during his summers on Mount Desert Island. Opened in 1928, the Abbe was one of the first museums built in Maine. Its founding coincided with that of the national park, which was established as Lafayette National Park in 1919 and became Acadia in 1929. The Abbe was conceived as a trailside museum to complement the park's offerings. Today it is one of only two remaining private trailside museums in national parks, the other one being the Borax Museum in

Death Valley, California Death Valley is a desert valley in Eastern California, in the northern Mojave Desert, bordering the Great Basin Desert. It is thought to be the hottest place on Earth during summer. Death Valley's Badwater Basin is the point of lowest elevat ...

. Robert Abbe was a man of many talents and interests. He was a photographer and an artist, painting, creating line drawings and molded maps. His large map "The Land of Dawn" is on display in the museum. The watercolor sketch on the right, of the museum, was completed by Abbe shortly before his death. Abbe Museum - interior1

Family

Abbe was the brother of

Cleveland Abbe Cleveland Abbe (December 3, 1838 – October 28, 1916) was an American meteorologist and advocate of time zones. While director of the Cincinnati Observatory in Cincinnati, Ohio, from 1871-1916, he developed a system of telegraphic weather r ...

, and the uncle of Cleveland Abbe Jr. and Truman Abbe. Robert Abbe died at his home in Manhattan on March 7, 1928, and was buried at

Woodlawn Cemetery Woodlawn Cemetery is the name of several cemeteries, including: Canada * Woodlawn Cemetery (Saskatoon) * Woodlawn Cemetery (Nova Scotia) United States ''(by state then city or town)'' * Woodlawn Cemetery (Ocala, Florida), where Isaac Rice and fa ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Abbe, Robert American radiologists American oncologists American plastic surgeons Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons alumni City College of New York alumni 1851 births 1928 deaths Deaths from anemia Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York)