Edward Anthony Spitzka (June 17, 1876 – September 4, 1922) was an American anatomist. He is best known for performing an autopsy on the brain of Leon Czolgsoz, the assassin of United States President William McKinley.
Early life and education Sptizka was born in New York City on June 17, 1876, to Catherine Watzek and Edward Charles Spitzka. His father was a well-known neurologist who testified at the trial of Charles Guiteau, the assassin of United States President James A. Garfield.
As a child, Spitzka attended public schools in New York. After high school, he enrolled in the College of the City of New York, now the City College of New York (CCNY), and graduated in 1898. Spitzka then entered Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons, graduating in 1902. During this time, he also served as a member of Company I, Seventh Regiment of the New York National Guard.
Autopsy on the brain of Leon Czolgosz In 1901, while still a student at Columbia, Spitzka autopsied the brain of presidential assassin Leon Czolgsoz. The full autopsy of the body included Spitzka, Dr. Carlos Frederick MacDonald, and Dr. John Gerin. Sptizka provided the detail work on the brain, examining portions under the microscope and drawing what he observed. Dr. McDonald remarked on Spitzka's "masterly description of the post-mortem findings and especially of the condition and anatomical structure of the brain." No abnormalities in the brain were found.
Career After receiving his degree in 1902, Spitzka remained at Columbia University for four years. Spitzka's research focused particularly on brain morphology and its possible relationship to human behavior and ability. He had a special interest in finding biological causes for criminality and genius. In 1906, he was appointed professor and chair of general and descriptive anatomy at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
In 1907, Spitzka published a detailed study of the brains of members of the American Anthropometric Society. The Society's membership included prominent individuals who had agreed to donate their brains for scientific study. Spitzka performed post mortem examinations of the brains of many distinguished American men, including Prof. Edward Drinker Cope, Prof. Joseph Leidy, Prof. Harrison Allen, Dr. William Pepper, George Francis Train, and Major John Wesley Powell.
Spitzka authored many articles and contributed to the medical reference book Gray's Anatomy, serving as co-editor with John Chalmers DaCosta of the 17th American edition and as editor of the 18th and 19th American editions. In 1911, he was appointed director of Thomas Jefferson University's newly opened Daniel Baugh Institute of Anatomy. In 1912, he stepped away from the work due to a nervous breakdown. He resigned from the Institute in 1914.
In 1917, Spitzka became a member of the 311th Sanitary Train, which provided medical aid to soldiers in Europe during World War I. He was honorably discharged in January 1919. On his return to the United States, he became chief medical officer of the Bureau of War Risk Insurance.
Personal life Spitzka married Pauline Eberspacher on June 20, 1906. The couple had a son, Edward Jefferson Spitzka, in 1908. Death Spitzka died in Mount Vernon, New York, on September 4, 1922, of apoplexy. He is buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York.
Selected publications
Co-edited with J. C. DaCosta, Gray's Anatomy, 17th American edition (September 1908).
Edited Gray's Anatomy, 18th American edition (October 1910).
Edited Gray's Anatomy, 19th American edition (July 1913).
References