Jean Holzworth
Jean Holzworth | |
---|---|
Born | Port Chester, New York, U.S. | March 26, 1915
Died | January 13, 2007 Lake Waramaug, Connecticut, U.S. | (aged 91)
Education |
|
Occupation(s) | Veterinarian, philologist |
Years active | 1940s–1987 |
Employer | Angell Memorial Animal Hospital |
Known for | Feline medicine |
Jean Holzworth (March 26, 1915 – January 13, 2007) was an American
Holzworth has been described in professional literature as "the definitive expert in feline medicine of her generation"[1]: 94 and noted for her "immeasurable importance" to the field.[2]
Early life
Jean Holzworth was born on March 26, 1915, in Port Chester, New York.[3] She grew up on a farm in Connecticut, where as a young girl she reportedly operated an amateur veterinary clinic for the farm cats[4][5] and marked their deaths using a "Cat's Funeral March" of her own composition.[6] She attended school at Greenwich Academy,[3] and later recalled that at age 15 she "had to be excused from the painful experience of dissecting a cat in biology class".[6]
Career as Latinist
Holzworth majored in Latin at Bryn Mawr College in 1936.[7] As a senior in 1935, she won a national competition organized by the University of Cincinnati to commemorate the 2000th anniversary of the birth of the Roman poet Horace, receiving the $1000 prize by unanimous decision of the judges.[8] The competition required entrants to translate poetry by Horace, write an essay on "Horace and Augustus", and compose an original Latin poem in the manner of Horace.[9]: 76–77 Holzworth's Latin poem was written during Benito Mussolini's preparations for the Italian invasion of Ethiopia and commented on his efforts at conquest.[7][10] The competition rules required each entrant to submit under a pseudonym; Holzworth used the name "John Michael" and the judges assumed she was a man.[7] The Latin poem and two of Holzworth's translations were published in the Bryn Mawr Alumni Bulletin,[8] and the poem was anthologized in a 2020 collection of Latin writings from the United States.[10]
Using the prize money from the Horace competition, Holzworth decided to spend a year studying at the
Holzworth taught at Mount Holyoke College in the early 1940s.[3][11]
Career in veterinary medicine
In 1943, one of Holzworth's favorite cats died of
In 1950 Holzworth became an intern at
Holzworth authored a number of important studies of feline disorders with her Angell colleagues, and she came to be recognized as a leading authority in the field.[1][2][11] Donald F. Smith describes her as "the definitive expert in feline medicine of her generation and the most important promoter of veterinary care for cats since Dr. Louis Camuti".[1]: 94 In 1963 she was the first to describe feline infectious peritonitis, a condition later recognized as caused by feline coronavirus infection.[17] With Angell's Gus Thornton, she was responsible for the first formal documentation of hyperthyroidism in cats.[16] She also wrote a case report of feline trichinosis; this was based on her own cat, according to her colleague Susan Cotter.[16]
Early in her career, Holzworth set out to write a book on feline diseases, with an intended publication date of 1962. However, the proliferation of research in the field led to a new plan, in which she would edit a two-volume work featuring contributions by a range of specialists. In the end, only the first volume of Diseases of the Cat: Medicine & Surgery ever appeared,[11] published in 1987 to a generally favorable reception. B. M. Bush, reviewing it in the British Veterinary Journal, said it would be "invaluable" for teachers and researchers and "surely a new 'classic' textbook", while regretting that it did not include more concise summaries of the material.[18] The designation as a "classic" was endorsed by Donald F. Smith in a historical article published in 2011.[1]: 94 Susan Bunch, a former Angell intern, noted the presence in many chapters of "editor's comments that reflect Dr. Holzworth's personal experience and opinions".[19]
Holzworth was a
Personal life
Holzworth was an enthusiast of art and opera.[16]
Retirement and death
After retiring in 1986, Holzworth moved to Lake Waramaug in Connecticut, near her childhood farm.[11] She died at home on January 13, 2007.[3][15] She left a bequest of approximately $2.8 million to the Cornell Feline Health Center, along with most of her collection of books and papers on cats.[20]
References
- ^ PMID 21805939.
- ^ S2CID 43703407.
- ^ a b c d e f "Holzworth, Jean, D.V.M." New York Times. January 17, 2007. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
- ^ a b c Deubler, M. Josephine (Summer 1984). "Centennial award for Dr. Holzworth". Animal Crackers. Bellwether. 12. School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania: 7.
- ISBN 0-7216-4763-4.
- ^ ISBN 0-7216-4763-4.
- ^ a b c "Jean Holzworth, '36, receives $1000 prize". The College News. 22 (9). Bryn Mawr College News: 1, 3. January 8, 1936.
- ^ a b "Nation wide prize content in honour of Horatian bimillenium won by Jean Holzworth, 1936". Bryn Mawr Alumnae Bulletin. 16 (3): 7–9. March 1936.
- JSTOR 3290829.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-7340189-8-1.
- ^ hdl:1813/34868. [This contribution is numbered as pp. 1–4, but appears on pp. 42–45 of the PDF.]
- ^ "Alternate Fellow is Horace prize winner". The College News. 22 (25). Bryn Mawr College News: 1, 6. June 8, 1936.
- S2CID 162360415.
- JSTOR 4428076.
- ^ hdl:1813/28677.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-00-015467-2.
- PMID 19254859.
- .
- .
- hdl:1813/28651.