Dr William Thomas Corlett

Title: Dr

Epithet: American medical professor (1854-1948)

Record type: Biographies

Biography: From ‘New Manx Worthies’ (2006):

William Thomas Corlett was one of the most prominent physicians of Cleveland.

His father's Manx ancestors had for several generations been the owners of Orrisdale in Michael, and were known as the Corletts of Orrisdale. In 1827 his grandfather sold Orrisdale and, with six children, emigrated to the United States. Before he could sell Orrisdale he had to get the consent of his eldest son, William, then seventeen years old, who according to the law of primogeniture was heir to the estate.

On arriving in America, William purchased land in Newburgh Township, about three miles from the village of the same name, which promised to be the metropolis of the Western Reserve. He later moved to Orange. His son William, as soon as he came of age, bought a farm in Orange Township and prepared the land for cultivation by clearing away the forest trees.

In 1850 the younger William married Ann Parsons, a widow, whose maiden name was Avery. She had been born in Devonshire, England, in 1816, and with her first husband and an infant son emigrated to the USA.

William Thomas was the second child of this marriage and was born on 15th April 1854 in Orange, which is about twelve miles east of Cleveland. It had been the custom in the Corlett family of Orrisdale to name the eldest son William and he was the thirteenth in direct succession to have that name. His sister's name was Jeanette. When he was about eight years old his health became impaired, the doctor saying he had 'heart disease' and must 'go slow and eat raw eggs'. This condition prevented him from going to school for a period and was followed when he was fifteen years of age by what he described as 'impetiginous eczema'.

In his book Reminiscences Dr Corlett later wrote 'This baffled the most brilliant medical lights procurable and gave me a wonderfully strong impression of the dignity and wisdom of the medical profession and made me long to exchange places with them. These early medical experiences stand out in memory and doubtless did much in shaping my subsequent career'. Writing about these medical problems he stated 'I later ascer-tained that the palpitation of which I had complained was due to no organic disease, but was the result of faulty nutrition in a rapidly growing youth. To the same cause I can attribute my skin trouble which kept me out of school from February 1870 until the following May'.

His father, who had retired to Cleveland, died in 1901, aged 91; his mother had died in January 1895 aged 78.

William Thomas received his preliminary education at the public schools of Orange, Ohio, before proceeding to Chagrin Falls High School and then Oberlin College. In 1874 he took up the study of medicine at the University of Wooster, receiving the degree of MD in 1877. Soon afterwards he was appointed demonstrator of anatomy in the medical department of Wooster University, resigning from this position in 1879 in order to go
abroad for further study. He entered the London Hospital as surgical dresser and later served in its medical department.

After completing his studies in London he worked at two hospitals in Paris, the 'Hopital St Louis' and the 'Hotel Dieu', before returning to London where he took the examinations of the Royal College of Physicians and qualified as LRCP, Lond. in July 1881. He then returned to America and began the practice of medicine in Cleveland.

Whilst studying in London and Paris Dr Corlett gave special attention to skin diseases and although he had taken up general medical practice on his return to Cleveland, after a short period he devoted his energies to his chosen speciality. In 1882 he was appointed lecturer on diseases of the skin and genito-urinary diseases in the medical department of Wooster University, and in 1884 was appointed professor of these chairs. He resigned these positions the following year to accept a lectureship in the same branches in the medical department of the Western Reserve University, being appointed professor in these branches in 1887.

In 1889 he again visited the medical centres of Europe, including Vienna, Berlin, Paris and London, in order to further his studies. In 1890 his title at Western Reserve University was changed to Professor of Dermatology and Syphilology and in 1924 he was appointed Professor Emeritus. He had been appointed physician of diseases of the skin to Charity Hospital and served on the Cleveland Board of Health; he had been on the consulting staff of both the St Alexis and City hospitals since their inception and on the building of the new Lakeside Hospital he became its dermatologist and there most of his clinical work, aside from his private practice, was carried out.

Dr Corlett wrote very extensively for medical journals on his specialities and his writings were widely quoted by French, English, German and Russian authors. He also contributed numerous chapters in various treatises devoted to diseases of the skin. His most noteworthy contributions to the medical literature were of a clinical nature. Those concerning his original investigations on the effect of climate on diseases of the skin, notably that of cold, he brought to the attention of medical congresses, chiefly those of Rome in 1894 and London in 1898. He was the author of a large treatise on Acute Infectious Exanthemata, profusely illustrated, which was published in 1891 and was in great demand.

At the outbreak of the widespread smallpox epidemic in 1890 he addressed the University of Buffalo at its annual alumni meeting on the differential diagnoses of smallpox, illustrating his lecture with lantern slides. It was also given before the medical society of St Louis and the Academy of Medicine of Cincinnati. He also lectured at many smaller places because of the alarming epidemic of smallpox at that time.

In 1903 he was invited to London to deliver the annual oration before the Dermatological Society of Great Britain and Ireland, and whilst in Europe he took the opportunity to visit Professor Finsen's Light Institute at Copenhagen and to study the effects of Roentgen ray treatment in Vienna; he also pursued special studies in Hamburg, Breslau and Prague.

He belonged to the Cleveland Academy of Medicine, to the Ohio State Medical Society, the American Medical Association and the American Dermatological Association, and was a fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine of Great Britain.

William Thomas was described as a man of fine personal appearance, athletic and very energetic and in manner courteous, genial and approachable. He had travelled extensively, not only in America but in nearly every foreign land.

On 26th June 1895 he married, at Rhein-Pfalz, Germany, Amanda Leisy, a daughter of Isaac Leisy of Cleveland. She was very active in social and musical circles and gave much time to charitable work. They had six children - three sons and three daughters (the eldest son, William, died in 1904 aged four).

William Thomas's principal recreations were travel and hunting, and he was a member of the Winous Point Shooting Club and the Cleveland Gun Club. He possessed a large and well-selected library and his literary talent was shown in a 221 page volume he wrote about 1908 entitled Tropical America, which was the log book of a midwinter cruise illustrated with 27 photographs.

He was a pioneer in speciality work and was a recognised authority both in America and many other countries in the branch to which he had devoted his attention - he was an eminent physician.

He died on 11th June 1948, aged 94.

Biography written by Victor Kneale.

(With thanks to Culture Vannin as publishers of the book: Kelly, Dollin (general editor), ‘New Manx Worthies’, Manx Heritage Foundation/Culture Vannin, 2006, pp.100-2.)

Culture Vannin

#NMW

Gender: Male

Date of birth: 15 April 1854

Date of death: 11 June 1948

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