Arthur Hawley Parmelee

Background

Arthur Hawley Parmelee Jr. was born in Chicago, Illinois, on October 29, 1917, to pediatrician Arthur Hawley Parmelee and Ruth Lovett Parmelee. He grew up in Chicago and attended Oak Park High School, a private school in Glarisegg, Switzerland, and Vanderbilt University before completing his undergraduate and medical education at the University of Chicago. His family background connected him with pediatrics from an early age through his father's medical career, while his later life was centered in Southern California.

Education

Parmelee attended Oak Park High School in Illinois and spent two years at a private school in Glarisegg, Switzerland. He studied at Vanderbilt University during 1935–1936, then earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of Chicago in 1940 and a Doctor of Medicine from the same institution in 1943. The University of Chicago combined laboratory science with professional medical education and provided the academic foundation for his later work in pediatrics and child development. After medical school he completed an internship at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Bethesda, pediatric training at Yale and New Haven Hospital, and residency at Los Angeles Children's Hospital.

Career

Parmelee served in the U.S. Naval Medical Corps from 1943 to 1947, including an internship at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Bethesda. In 1947 he undertook pediatric clinical training at the Yale Institute of Child Development and New Haven Hospital, followed by residency at Los Angeles Children's Hospital from 1948 to 1949. He practiced pediatrics privately in Pacific Palisades from 1949 to 1952 and also taught at the University of Southern California and UCLA. At UCLA he progressed from instructor to assistant professor, associate professor, professor of pediatrics, and professor emeritus. From 1967 to 1988 he served as professor of pediatrics and head of the Division of Child Development, while also participating in the Brain Research Institute, the Mental Retardation Center, the School of Social Welfare, and the Graduate School of Education. His research addressed premature infants, retrolental fibroplasia, blindness, infant sleep, speech, neurological maturation, illness, and later cognitive and behavioral development. He was a consultant to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, a consultant to Holy Family Adoption Service, a visiting professor at the University of Hawaii, and a research professor at the University of Göttingen.

Achievements

• Established a long academic career in pediatric developmental studies at UCLA and led the Division of Child Development from 1967 to 1988.

• Conducted influential longitudinal research on premature infants and children blind from retrolental fibroplasia, examining mental development, neurological maturation, and later functioning.

• Developed research and teaching on infant sleep, speech, illness, and early behavioral development.

Works

• journal article

  • Children's Illnesses: Their Beneficial Effects on Behavioral Development

    (Argued that ordinary childhood illnesses could provide co...)

    1986
  • The Developmental Evaluation of the Blind Premature Infant

    (Examined developmental assessment of premature infants wh...)

    1955
  • EEG Patterns of Preterm Infants, Home Environment, and Later IQ

    (Co-authored research relating electroencephalographic pat...)

    1986

  • The Story of Retrolental Fibroplasia

    (Presented a historical and medical account of retrolental...)

    1955
  • Infant Speech Development: A Report of the Study of One Child by Magnetic Tape Recordings

    (Reported a longitudinal recording study of one child's vo...)

    1955

  • Continuity in Cognitive Abilities from Infancy to 12 Years

    (Co-authored a longitudinal study of links between infant ...)

    1991

  • Retrolental Fibroplasia: A Reduction in Incidence Following a Decrease in Use of Oxygen Therapy for Premature Infants

    (Co-authored a report relating reduced oxygen exposure in ...)

    1956

  • The Electroencephalogram in Visually Handicapped Children

    (Co-authored an examination of electroencephalographic fin...)

    1964

  • Infant Sleep Patterns: From Birth to 16 Weeks of Age

    (Reported longitudinal observations of sleep and wakefulne...)

    1964
  • Developmental Studies of Blind Children: I

    (Presented developmental research on blind children in the...)

    1966

  • Well Baby Clinics in the First-Year Medical Curriculum

    (Co-authored an account of integrating well-baby clinics i...)

    1960

  • Infant Attention in Relation to Intellectual Abilities in Childhood

    (Co-authored research examining relationships between infa...)

    1986

  • The Effect of High Oxygen Concentrations on the Opossum Pouch Young

    (Co-authored experimental research on the effects of high ...)

    1960

  • Prematurity and Illegitimacy

    (Analyzed associations between prematurity and illegitimac...)

    1961
  • The Development of Ten Children with Blindness as a Result of Retrolental Fibroplasia: A Four-Year Longitudinal Study

    (Co-authored a four-year longitudinal study of ten childre...)

    1959
  • Mental Development of Children with Blindness Due to Retrolental Fibroplasia

    (Co-authored a study of the mental development of children...)

    1958

  • Sleep Patterns of the Newborn

    (Co-authored research describing sleep patterns and develo...)

    1961

  • Illness and the Development of Social Competence

    (Co-authored later developmental research concerning child...)

    1997

  • Follow-up Studies of Preterm Infants

    (Reviewed follow-up research concerning the later developm...)

    1995

  • Cognitive Development in Preterm Infants: Birth to 8 Years

    (Co-authored longitudinal research on cognitive developmen...)

    1986

  • Bilateral Renal Agenesis and Oligohydramnios

    (Co-authored a pediatric report on bilateral renal agenesi...)

    1956

  • Oxygen Therapy for Newborn and Premature Infants

    (Reviewed the use and risks of oxygen therapy in newborn a...)

    1959

  • Absence from School: Its Relationship to Illness in the Community

    (Examined the relationship between childhood illness and s...)

    1958

Religion

Parmelee was a Presbyterian and attended Pacific Palisades Presbyterian Church. Presbyterianism developed from the Reformed tradition of the Protestant Reformation and emphasized the authority of Scripture, ordered church governance, preaching, education, and communal responsibility. In the United States, Presbyterian congregations formed an important part of established Protestant religious and civic life.

Membership

Parmelee belonged to major American pediatric, medical, developmental, and sleep-research organizations, including the American Medical Association, the American Pediatric Society, the Society for Pediatric Research, the Western Society for Pediatric Research, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Society for Research in Child Development, the Association for Ambulatory Pediatrics, the Association for the Psychophysiological Study of Sleep, and the Los Angeles County Medical Society. He also belonged to Phi Beta Kappa. His professional service included chairing a child-development committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics, serving on the council of the Association for Ambulatory Pediatrics, and serving as president of the Society for Research in Child Development from 1983 to 1985.

• American Medical Association , United States

• American Pediatric Society , United States

• Society for Pediatric Research , United States

• Western Society for Pediatric Research , United States

• Chairman of a committee or section concerned with child development.

  American Academy of Pediatrics , United States

• Served on the council.

  Association for Ambulatory Pediatrics , United States

  1966 - 1969

• Served as president.

  Society for Research in Child Development , United States

  1983 - 1985

• Association for the Psychophysiological Study of Sleep , United States

• Los Angeles County Medical Society , United States

• Phi Beta Kappa , United States

Personality

Parmelee was described by family accounts as devoted to children, family, teaching, and community life. He was also remembered for sustained interest in UCLA athletics, flowers, and challenging jigsaw puzzles.

Interests

• Flowers, especially blue hydrangeas; jigsaw puzzles; church activities

• Sport & Clubs

  UCLA basketball and football

Connections

Parmelee was the son of pediatrician Arthur Hawley Parmelee and Ruth Lovett Parmelee. He married Jean Rheinfrank, and they had four children: Arthur Hawley III, Ann, Tim, and Ruth Ellen. His family life in Chicago, New Haven, and Pacific Palisades formed part of the personal setting of his long career in pediatric developmental research.

Father:

Arthur Hawley Parmelee

Pediatrician and medical author.

Mother:

Ruth Lovett Parmelee

Wife:

Jean Rheinfrank

Parmelee's spouse and the mother of their four children.

Son:

Arthur Hawley Parmelee III

Daughter:

Ann Parmelee

Son:

Tim Parmelee

Daughter:

Ruth Ellen Parmelee

References

• Arthur H. Parmelee, Jr. Curriculum Vitae Documents Parmelee's birth, education, military service, professional appointments, fellowships, consultancies, memberships, and bibliography.
• Dr. Arthur Hawley Parmelee Jr. Provides biographical information about Parmelee's family, naval service, pediatric practice in Pacific Palisades, UCLA career, religious affiliation, interests, and death.
  2014
• Arthur H. “Hawley” Parmelee, Jr., M.D., Pediatric Developmental Studies Lists Parmelee among UCLA emeriti remembered for pediatric developmental studies.
  2015
• The Development of Ten Children with Blindness as a Result of Retrolental Fibroplasia: A Four-Year Longitudinal Study Documents Parmelee's co-authored longitudinal study of children blinded by retrolental fibroplasia.
  1959
• Arthur H. Parmelee, Jr. Oral History Interview An oral-history interview discussing Parmelee's research interests, family, infancy, early development, and rooming-in studies.