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Benjamin Spock Biography
Physician / Writer
Dr. Benjamin Spock's book Baby and Child Care was published in 1946, just in time for the post-World War II baby boom, and became a best-selling guide to child rearing. Pediatrician Spock encouraged new parents to use common sense and to treat children with respect. This led some critics to call him the "Father of Permissiveness," in spite of Spock's protests to the contrary. In the 1960s Spock gained new fame as a pacifist and Vietnam War protester.
Extra credit: Spock rowed on Yale's crew team, and with them won a gold medal in the 1924 Olympics... Contrary to popular rumor, Dr. Spock's son did not commit suicide. His grandson Peter did commit suicide in 1983... Spock is occasionally confused with Mr. Spock of the TV show Star Trek.
Dr. Spock, along with Doc Watson, appears in our loop Famous "Doctors."
Other scientist/activists include Linus Pauling, Noam Chomsky and Bertrand Russell.
Blog posts mentioning Benjamin Spock:
Four Good Links
The Spock Touch
Salon magazine recaps his career and his influence
The Dr. Spock Company
Official site of the organization that bears his name; includes their biography of Spock
The Spock Legacy
Yale's alumni magazine remembers him through testimonials
An Interview With Dr. Benjamin Spock
In one of his last interviews he criticizes materialism and TV, among other things
Vital Stats
Birth
Birthplace
Death
15 March 1998
(natural causes, age 94)
Best Known As
The author of Baby and Child Care