William Berenberg, American physician, educator. Diplomate American Board Pediatric Medicine. Recipient Presidential Gold medal Government of Ecuador, Guayaquil, 1977, Weinstein award United Cerebral Palsy, 1978.
Background
Berenberg was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, to immigrant parents. However, his father was reportedly too proud to allow his son to take the "hand-out" and Berenberg worked his own way through the Ivy League institution, commuting from home and cleaning dishes for extra income.
Education
He graduated from Harvard cum laude in 1936 and entered Boston University Medical School later that year, earning his Doctor of Medicine
Career
October 29, 1915 – September 14, 2005) was an American physician, Harvard professor, and pioneer in the treatment and rehabilitation of cerebral palsy. Growing up in Chelsea, Massachusetts, he proved a bright and studious young man and earned admission to Harvard University on scholarship. in 1940. In 1941, Berenberg entered the pathology department of Children"s Hospital in Boston as an international
Thus began his extraordinary sixty-year relationship with the hospital.
He was Chief, Interim Chief or Associate Chief of seven divisions, including serving as Associate Physician-in-Chief from 1969 to 1974, and Chief of the Cerebral Palsy Division for 44 years. He was a worldwide leader in the study and treatment of cerebral palsy and opened the first cerebral palsy kindergarten in Wellesley, Massachusetts.
In 1968, he was elected president of the American Academy of Cerebral Palsy. He successfully lobbied for the Rehabilitation Acting, which was arguably the first piece of landmark legislation enacted to protect the disabled, outlawing discrimination based on handicap.
In it, public funding was secured for orthopedic equipment.
Berenberg became an adjunct professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and, from 1974–1988, directed the Harvard - Massachusetts Institute of Technology Rehabilitation Engineering Center, where he coordinated research to create devices to help those with disabilities. A Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, Berenberg trained over 1,000 pediatricians and treated many thousands of children, including President John F. Kennedy"s late son Patrick. Housecalls in eastern Massachusetts were common, but he also built a large international practice, with patients from Mexico to Saudi Arabia.
Berenberg was the official medical consultant to the United States. Virgin Islands.
Early on, he was lauded by President Franklin Doctorate. Roosevelt for his research in gamma globulin. In 1980, he was awarded the Janeway Award for Excellence in Clinical Teaching from the house staff
Frederick Lovejoy was the first to hold the chairman Formally retiring in 2001, Berenberg remained a Harvard professor emeritus until his death on September 14, 2005 in Norwood, Massachusetts.
He is buried at Sharon Memorial Park in Sharon, Massachusetts.
Two became physicians, Jeffrey L. Berenberg and Richard A. Berenberg (dec 1984), and one became a social worker, Barbara Berenberg.
Achievements
Membership
Vice president medical affairs United Cerebral Palsy, New York City, 1972, chairman research council, 1972. Life trustee Roxbury Latin School, West Roxbury, Massachusetts, 1975. Member American Academy Cerebral Palsy (president 1968, Presidential award 1987), American Academy Pediatrics (state chairman 1960), American Pediatric Society, Society Pediatric Research, New England Pediatric Society (president 1962), Rehabilitation Engineering Society North America (E&J award 1984).
Interests
Avocations: swimming, boating.
Connections
Married Blanche Berger, June 17, 1939 (deceased). Children: Jeffrey, Richard (deceased), Barbara.