The Four Horsemen of American neurology

Type of article: ORIGINAL

AUTHORS

W. W. Campbell
Professor Emeritus, Department of Neurology, Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA.

ABSTRACT

Introduction. Drs Russell DeJong, Adolph Sahs, Francis Forster and Abraham B. Baker are referred to as the 'Four Horsemen of American neurology' because of the pivotal role they played in the development of neurology in the US and in the founding of the American Academy of Neurology.

Methods. Review of various historical documents.

Results and Discussion. Each of the Four Horsemen was an influential department chair, an exceptional clinician, gifted teacher and accomplished researcher. Together they became a powerful force that helped in recognizing Neurology as a specialty, establishing a specialty society, and launching a journal, Neurology, as its official publication, with DeJong as its founding editor-in-chief. They were all involved in establishing the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, which provided vital research funding and helped create a golden age of advancement in the diagnosis and treatment of neurological disorders. Each made unique and invaluable contributions that are still felt today in such fields as epilepsy and cerebrovascular disease.

KEYWORDS

Neurology, history, neurological examination, AAN, NINDS

Neurosciences and History 2015;3(3):101-106