Howard Bruenn

Howard Bruenn
Physician to the President
In office
1944–1945
PresidentFranklin Roosevelt
Preceded byRoss T. McIntire
Succeeded byWallace H. Graham
Personal details
BornHoward Gerald Bruenn
1905 (1905)
Died(1995-07-25)July 25, 1995 (aged 90)
EducationColumbia University (BA)
Johns Hopkins University (MD)

Howard Gerald Bruenn[1] (1905 – July 25, 1995) was an American physician who served as Physician to the President and attended to President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the year before his death.[2]

Biography

Bruenn was born in Youngstown, Ohio.[3] He graduated from Columbia College in 1925 and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 1929.[3][4][5] He interned at Boston City Hospital and completed his residency at the Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons.[5]

He joined the U.S. Navy in 1942 and was commissioned a Lieutenant Commander.[3]

Bruenn was transferred to Bethesda Naval Hospital, where he became chief of cardiology. After giving President Franklin D. Roosevelt a routine health check, he was assigned to be the President's physician.[3] He traveled with the President wherever he went, including the Yalta Conference.[6] He was one of the only three people present in Roosevelt's personal quarters in the Little White House when he died on April 12, 1945.[2]

After the President's death, Bruenn returned to private practice until his retirement in 1975 as consultant emeritus and retired chief of the Vanderbilt Clinic at the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.[3]

Bruenn, a lifelong resident of Riverdale, Bronx, died on July 29, 1995, in his summer home in Sorrento, Maine at 90 years old.[3]

References

  1. ^ Lomazow, Steven (December 21, 2009). "Rethinking Franklin D. Roosevelt: Getting Past the Gospel According to Bruenn". History News Network.
  2. ^ a b Smith, Merriman (April 12, 1945). "Roosevelt dies of stroke at Little White House". UPI. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Onishi, Norimitsu (August 2, 1995). "Howard Bruenn, 90, Roosevelt's Doctor In Last Year of Life". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  4. ^ Columbia College today. New York, New York: Columbia College (Columbia University). 1955.
  5. ^ a b "Howard G. Bruenn | Archives & Special Collections". www.library-archives.cumc.columbia.edu. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  6. ^ "The Dying President". Hyde Park, New York: Home Of Franklin D Roosevelt National Historic Site, U.S. National Park Service. Retrieved February 4, 2022.