In Memoriam: James C. Whorton (1942-2025)

It is with deep sadness that the Department of Bioethics & Humanities at the University of Washington acknowledges the passing of our colleague Dr. James C. Whorton, Emeritus Faculty Member. Dr. Whorton was a cherished and respected member of our community whose work and collegial spirit left a lasting impression on the department.

We extend our heartfelt condolences to his family and to his many former colleagues and friends. We are grateful for the contributions he made and the relationships he helped build in the Department of Bioethics and Humanities.

We will share further information and any memorial arrangements as it becomes available.

In Memoriam : James C. Whorton (1942-2025)

By Jack W. Berryman, Ph.D.

The University of Washington (UW) School of Medicine and the Department of Bioethics and Humanities, reports with sorrow, the passing of our esteemed colleague, Professor Emeritus James Whorton, a noted historian of medicine, public health, alternative medicine, hygiene, pharmacy, health faddism, and practices of self-medication, diet, and exercise. After his undergraduate degree in chemistry from Duke University in 1964, Jim earned his Ph.D. in the history of science from the University of Wisconsin in 1969. That same year, he came to the Department of Biomedical History at the UW as a Macy Foundation post-doctoral fellow in the history of medicine and advanced through the ranks, retiring from the Department of Bioethics and Humanities in 2009. During those years, he served as acting chair of the Department of Biomedical History and the Department of Medical History and Ethics several times and was a stalwart on the executive admissions committee.

A prolific researcher and writer, Jim published five major books: Before Silent Spring. Pesticides and Public Health in Pre-DDT America (Princeton, 1975); Crusaders for Fitness. The History of American Health Reformers (Princeton, 1982); Inner Hygiene. Constipation and the Pursuit of Health in Modern Society (Oxford, 2000); Nature Cures: The History of Alternative Medicine in America (Oxford, 2002); The Arsenic Century: How Victorian Britain was Poisoned at Home, Work, and Play (Oxford, 2010); one edited volume with John Parascandola, Chemistry and Modern Society (American Chemical Society, 1983); and, after retirement, a medical history novel, The Dark of Hangman’s Wynd: A Professor Arnesen Mystery (Amazon, 2014.) He also published numerous articles in the Western Journal of Medicine, Pharmacy in History, Bulletin of the History of Medicine, Journal of Sport History, and many others. Many of Jim’s articles were reprinted in edited volumes pertaining to the history of hygiene, fitness, public health, sports medicine, pharmacy, chemistry, alternative medicine, holistic medicine, and diet.

Jim was an active member of the American Association for the History of Medicine serving on the council and chair of a variety of committees in the 1980’s and 90’s, as well as the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy, serving a chair of several committees. He was also an editorial board member for the Bulletin of the History of Medicine and Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences. He also contributed many biographies of medical figures and health reformers to the Dictionary of Medical Biography and the Dictionary of American Biography.

Whorton was a popular professor, teaching both undergraduate and graduate students in medicine, public health, pharmacy, and history, among others. He also directed several dissertations that evolved into highly respected books. Jim also sponsored many medical school student independent research projects and wrote countless letters of recommendation for his students. Outside of the UW, he gave lectures to a variety of professional groups, museums, historical societies, and youth groups.

In many ways, Jim was the “heart and soul” of the Department of Biomedical History following the untimely death of Charles Bodemer, the founder and chair of the department from 1967 to 1985, when he died at the age of 58. The dean appointed Whorton as acting chair, established a chairmanship search committee under the direction of Paul E. Strandjord, M.D., chair of the Department of Laboratory Medicine, and requested a review of the department’s role and contributions to the School of Medicine. In a six-page report to Strandjord’s committee, dated October 25, 1985, Jim drew upon his vast knowledge of medical history, citing Sir William Osler’s metaphor, “humanities are the hormones,” suggesting that “history and philosophy are the intellectual messengers that stimulate medicine to recall its values as it faces the challenges of the future.” Whorton also referred to the new General Professional Education of the Physician Report (GPEP), prepared by the Association of American Medical Colleges, that recommended undergraduates aspiring to medical school should be required “to achieve a baccalaureate education that encompasses broad study in the natural and social sciences and in the humanities.” Jim emphasized that the department’s “ambition is to be a center for teaching and research that will stimulate School-wide interest in, and adoption of, humanities perspectives in medical education…” He concluded by telling the review committee: “We hope to emerge from the review process with a clear sense of mission and a program of education and research that the School will enthusiastically endorse.”

With additional support from Dan Hunt, M.D., Dean of Education and Werner Samson, M.D., Dean of Admissions, the search and review committee supported the department’s mission and role and selected Albert Jonsen, Ph.D. as the new chair in July, 1987. Shortly thereafter, in October, the dual mission of the department, as explained by Whorton, resulted in a change in the department’s name to Medical History and Ethics (MHE). Shortly after the name change, the Minor in Medical History and Ethics, one of the nation’s earliest, was approved, bringing to fruition a formal program of undergraduate education as suggested by the GPEP Report and by Whorton.

The bulk of Whorton’s teaching was to undergraduates aspiring to careers in the health sciences, especially pre-med students. His classes were: MHE 417, Disease in History; MHE 401, History of Modern Medicine; MHE 413, History of Alternative and Complimentary Medicine; and, MHE 481, Pursuit of Health in America, taught with Jack Berryman, Ph.D. Jim also taught MHE 501, Alternative Approaches to Healing, a class he designed specifically for first and second year medical school students. In 1987, along with colleague Berryman, Whorton initiated a new master’s degree specialization in the History of Health, Exercise, and Sports Medicine. Jim made the study of history, often disliked by students, an interesting, fun, and challenging endeavor. His detailed outlines, use of primary source readings, and his massive collection of visual aids, brought life and excitement to the subject. His essay exams were designed to test, in a very specific way, a student’s overall knowledge of the subject and with class sizes between 40 and 60 each quarter, took hours and hours to grade.

Whorton was loved and respected by his colleagues and students. His expansive knowledge of medicine and history inspired his daily life and played a key role in his interactions with friends. He was a lover of good food and drink and travelled widely to visit pubs and to sample the menu at unique restaurants. Jim’s sabbatical at the Universite Louis Pasteur in Strasbourg, France in 1999, not only gave him time to write his third and fourth books, but also allowed him the opportunity to indulge in French cuisine.

For those of us who had the privilege of knowing and working with Jim, he will be sorely missed. Indeed, colleague Nancy Jecker, Ph.D. remembered that, “Jim was such a kind and thoughtful person. I feel fortunate that our paths crossed at UW.” Denise Dudzinski, Ph.D. and former chair, noted, “I remember how much warmth I felt from Jim in my early years in the department. I cherished his kindness, intelligence, joy, and collegiality.” He is survived by his wife Jackie, a son and daughter-in-law, and two grandchildren.