Francis M. Forster, MD (1912–2006)

Dr. Francis M. Forster, an icon of American neurology and a founder of the American Academy of Neurology, died February 23, 2006, in Cincinnati, Ohio, 10 days after his 94th birthday. Dr. Forster was a major force during the mid-20th century in bringing neurology into the mainstream of clinical practice at a time when neurology was largely an esoteric academic discipline. His scholarly achievements were largely in the field of epilepsy and, in particular, reflex epilepsy. As the esteemed chairman of two vigorous university departments, he trained more than 100 residents. Sixteen of these became chairs of neurology in the United States, Asia (Taiwan, the Philippines, and Japan), South America, and Europe. Through his trainees, Dr. Forster’s caring and inquisitive approach to patients with disorders of the nervous system influenced the next generations of neurologists.

Figure. Francis M. Forster, MD

Francis Forster was born in Cincinnati on February 14, 1912, to Michael Joseph Forster and Louise Barbara Schmidt. He attended St. Xavier High School, where he acquired a lasting interest in the classic languages of Latin and Greek that served him as a lifetime source of material for his wide-ranging intellect and for his delightful puns. He studied pre-medicine at Xavier University and received his medical degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine on July 11, 1937. He served a rotating internship at Good Samaritan Hospital in Cincinnati, completed his residency in neurology on the Harvard Neurological Unit at the Boston City Hospital under the direction of Dr. Tracy J. Putnam and Dr. H. Houston Merritt, and trained in psychiatry at Pennsylvania Hospital. Following his residency, he was a Rockefeller Research Fellow in Dr. John F. Fulton’s Laboratory of Physiology at Yale University School of Medicine.

Dr. Forster began his long and distinguished career in academic medicine as …