Portrait of Perry Cossart Baird Jr. 1928.jpg
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Perry Cossart Baird Jr.
DoctorResearcher
United States1903–1959
Perry Cossart Baird Jr. was an American doctor and medical researcher who graduated at the top of his class from Harvard Medical School and practiced dermatology in Boston. He also pursued an early biological explanation for manic-depressive illness, publishing research into a possible biochemical basis for mania. [1]
Career and work
Baird graduated at the top of his class from Harvard Medical School in 1928. He trained and conducted research at Massachusetts General Hospital before establishing a dermatology practice in Boston. [1]
Alongside his clinical work, Baird investigated whether manic-depressive illness had a biological basis. His paper “Biochemical Component of the Manic-Depressive Psychosis” was published in The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease in 1944. [1]
What has been publicly discussed
Sources and other resourcesExpand to view the sources used in this profile and resources to learn more.
Sources used for this profile
The following sources contain information that supports the claims made on this page.
Harvard Medicine Magazine“Trouble in Mind” Detailed account of Baird's medical career, manic-depressive diagnosis, recurrent illness, biological research, hospitalizations and lobotomy.
Psychiatric Services“Echoes from a dungeon cell: a doctor's view of his incarceration” Published autobiographical material by Baird about bipolar illness and psychiatric confinement.
Mimi Baird with Eve ClaxtonHe Wanted the Moon Incorporates Perry Baird's surviving manuscript and is a primary source for his descriptions of mania, psychiatric hospitalization and institutional treatment.
View all 4 sources
He Wanted the Moon — Kirkus Reviews Review summarizing Baird's manic-depressive illness and historical psychiatric treatments, including insulin coma therapy, electroconvulsive therapy and lobotomy.
Learn more
Recommended books and other resources about Perry Cossart Baird Jr. and their experiences.
- “A Story of Bipolar and a Daughter's Search for Answers”Here & Now / WBUR
Interview with Mimi Baird about discovering her father's manuscript and reconstructing his experience of manic depression and institutionalization.
- “A Conversation with Mimi Baird, Author of He Wanted the Moon”Crazy Wisdom Community Journal
Interview about Baird's research, psychiatric treatment, medical records and his daughter's effort to recover his history.