William Maclay Awl (May 24, 1799 – November 19, 1876) was a

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...

, a

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and a mental health hospital administrator.

Biography

He was born in

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg ( ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,099 as of 2020, Harrisburg is the ninth-most populous city in Pennsylvania. It is the larger of the two pr ...

, to Mary (Maclay) Awl and lawyer and

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

Samuel Awl. He studied basic medical concepts under a local

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

. At age 20 he entered the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania. Failing to graduate, he began a temporary practice in his hometown, specializing in anatomy and surgery, but later accompanied a knapsacker to

Lancaster, Ohio Lancaster ( ) is a city in Fairfield County, Ohio, and its county seat. The population was 40,552 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Ohio, Ohio's 30th largest city, having surpassed Warren, Ohio, Warren and Fin ...

, in 1826. In 1830 he married Rebecca Loughey. He then practiced his profession in many towns within Ohio, but finally settled in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

, in 1833 where he stayed for the rest of his life. He was the first

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 ...

west of the

Allegheny Mountains The Allegheny Mountain Range ( ) — also spelled Alleghany or Allegany, less formally the Alleghenies — is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada. Historically it represented a significant barr ...

to tie the left

Common carotid artery In anatomy, the left and right common carotid arteries (carotids) () are artery, arteries that supply the head and neck with oxygenated blood; they divide in the neck to form the external carotid artery, external and internal carotid artery, inte ...

.''Western and Physical Journal'', October 1827 In Columbus he quickly specialized in treating mental disorders and management of people suffering from

insanity Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors caused by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to other ...

. He was once stated that if he could fix his eyes on those of even the most violent lunatic he could control him without difficulty, an accomplishment which he succeeded in doing several times. He was a common witness in court to cases of doubtful insanity. Both he and Marmaduke B. Wright were members of the

Ohio General Assembly The Ohio General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio. It consists of the 99-member Ohio House of Representatives and the 33-member Ohio Senate. Both houses of the General Assembly meet at the Ohio Statehouse in Colu ...

. Together they promoted a bill which later became law in 1835 in which Ohio insanity cases would come under the care of the state. William Maclay Awl then was acting superintendent of the "State Hospital", which opened in 1838. Also in 1838 he was president of the Association of Superintendents of Asylums for the Insane of the United States and Canada. He held this position until 1851. He headed a bill which founded schools for the education of the blind and feeble-minded in Ohio. In addition, in 1846, he, Daniel Drake, and other leading members of his field to establish the Ohio State Medical Society.

Notes

References

* Johnson, Allen, ed. ''Dictionary of American Biography''. New York:Charles Scribner's Sons, 1936. {{DEFAULTSORT:Awl, William Maclay 1799 births 1876 deaths American psychiatrists American surgeons Politicians from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Politicians from Columbus, Ohio Members of the Ohio General Assembly Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania alumni Presidents of the American Psychiatric Association 19th-century members of the Ohio General Assembly