| Malford W. Thewlis | |
| Birth Date: | October 11, 1863 |
| Birth Place: | Wakefield, Rhode Island |
| Death Place: | Rhode Island, United States |
| Alma Mater: | Bowdoin Medical School of Maine |
| Occupation: | physician |
Malford Wilcox Thewlis (December 4, 1889 – June 3, 1956) was an American physician and pioneer of gerontology, who co-founded the American Geriatrics Society in 1942.[1] He is commemorated by the annual Thewlis Lecture on Gerontology and Geriatrics, established at the University of Rhode Island.[2] As a neuropsychiatrist, he attended US President Woodrow Wilson, following a stroke in 1919.[3]
Thewlis was born on December 4, 1889, in Wakefield, Rhode Island, the son of James E. Thewlis and Viola (née Wilcox),[4] and received his MD from the Bowdoin Medical School of Maine in 1911.[5] [6] He married Miss Christiane Cherfils (1895 - 1978[7]) of Paris, France on December 10, 1919, and they had a son, Harold, who became a professor of politics at University of Rhode Island.[8] Thewlis was one of the few physicians to take note of Ignatz Leo Nascher's 1914 book, Geriatrics: The Diseases of Old Age and Their Treatment, and devoted his life's work to care of the elderly and research into the diseases of old age.[9] He authored "The Care of the Aged: Geriatrics", first published in 1919. Thewlis was also an accomplished amateur magician,[10] and a member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians:[4] he recommended the practice of conjuring tricks to keep the mind and hands supple.[11] He died on June 3, 1956, and was cremated.[7]