Louis Wolff

This article is about the American cardiologist. For the Wisconsin politician, see Louis Wolf.

Louis Wolff (April 14, 1898 – January 28, 1972) was an American cardiologist and college professor.[1] He was the chief of the electrocardiographic laboratory at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston from 1928 to 1964. In 1930, Wolff described the Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome with John Parkinson and Paul Dudley White.[1][2]

Early life

Wolfff was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1898.[1] His parents immigrated to the United States from Lithuania but had previously lived in Peru and London.[1] His childhood was spent in Revere, Massachusetts and South Boston, Massachusetts.[3] He attended The English High School in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts.[1]

Wolff went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, graduating with a degree in biology and public health in 1918.[1] He played violin and conducted in a dance orchestra to pay for college.[1] After graduation, he considered going to Europe to study music; because World War I, he remained in the United States and went to medical school.[1]

He enrolled in Harvard Medical School and graduated in 1922.[1] He completed an internship at the Massachusetts General Hospital from 1922 to 1924[1]

Career

Wolff continued to work at the Massachusetts General Hospital with Paul Dudley White, staying there from 1924 to 1928.[1] Next, he worked at the Beth Israel Hospital in Boston as the chief of the electrocardiographic laboratory, remaining in this position from 1928 until his retirement in 1964.[1] In 1930, Wolffe described the eponymously named Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome with John Parkinson and Paul Dudley White.[1][2] He also conducted pioneering work in vectorcardiography.[3]

Wolfe was also a clinical professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.[2][3] He published the textbook Electrocardiography in Fundamentals and Clinical Application in 1950.[1] He served as president of the New England Cardiovascular Society.[2]

Personal life

In 1920, Wolff married Alice Muscanto, a flute player born in Vilnius, Lithuania. She played with her sisters and brothers in Muscanto's Russian Orchestra, a touring musical ensemble founded by her father Louis Muscanto.[4] Louis and Alice had two children, Lea Wolff and Richard Wolff.[3] They lived in Brookline, Massachusetts.[3]

After Alice's death, Wolff married Phyllis Raftell; the daughter of Greek immigrants who had previously worked as Wolff's medical secretary.[5] They had two children, Sarah Wolff and Charles Wolff.[5][3]

Wolff died of Parkinson's disease in the Beth Israel Hospital on January 28, 1972.[2][1] His funeral services were held in the Levine Chapel in Brookline.[3] He was buried in Moses Mendelsohn Cemetery. Two of his children entered the medical field: Richard became a cardiologist and Charles became a physician.[5][1]

Selected publications

  • Wolff, Louis; Parkinson, John; White, Paul D. (August 1930). "Bundle-Branch Block with Short P-R Interval in Healthy Young People Prone to Paroxysmal tachycardia". The American Heart Journal. 5 (6): 685–705. doi:10.1111/j.1542-474X.2006.00127.x. PMC 6932258. PMID 17040283.
  • Wolff, Louis. Electrocardiography in Fundamentals and Clinical Application. Philadelphia: WB Saunders, 1950.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Kurland, G. S. (May 1989). "Louis Wolff: 1898-1972". Clinical Cardiology. 12 (5): 301–302. doi:10.1002/clc.4960120514. S2CID 71948059.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Dr. Louis Wolff, Professor And Noted Heart Specialist". The New York Times. January 30, 1972. p. 52.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Dr. Louis Wolff, a pioneer in heart research". The Boston Globe. 1972-01-29. p. 25. Retrieved 2023-12-02 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Muscanto's Orchestra". The Enterprise and Vermonter. Vergennes, Vermont. 1913-02-20. p. 8. Retrieved 2023-12-02 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b c "Wolff, Phyllis (Raftell)". The Boston Globe. 2016-05-17. pp. B8. Retrieved 2023-12-02 – via Newspapers.com.