Gregory Zilboorg
Encyclopedia
Gregory Zilboorg (December 25, 1890 – 1959) was a psychoanalyst and historian of psychiatry who is remembered for situating psychiatry within a broad sociological and humanistic context in his many writings and lectures.
Zilboorg was born in Kiev
, Ukraine
on December 25, 1890 and studied medicine in St. Petersburg. In 1917 he served in the Ministry of Labor for two presidents (Aleksandr Kerenskii
and Georgii L'vov).
Zilboorg emigrated to the United States in 1919 and for a time translated literature from Russian to English while studying medicine at Columbia University
. Among the works he translated is Evgenii Zamiatin's We.
After graduating in 1926, he worked at the Bloomingdale Hospital and eventually established a psychoanalytic practice in New York City. From the 1930s onward, Zilboorg produced several volumes of lasting importance on the history of psychiatry. The Medical Man and the Witch During the Renaissance began as the Noguchi lectures at Johns Hopkins University in 1935. This volume was followed by A History of Medical Psychology in 1941 and Sigmund Freud in 1951.
Zilboorg's patients included George Gershwin
, Lillian Hellman
, Ralph Ingersoll
, Edward M.M. Warburg, Marshall Field, Kay Swift
and James Warburg
. The musical Lady in the Dark
is reportedly based on Moss Hart
's experience undergoing analysis with Zilboorg.
Zilboorg married Ray Liebow in 1919 and they had two children (Nancy and Gregory, Jr.). He married Margaret Stone in 1946 and they had three children (Caroline, John and Matthew).
, Yale University
, contain manuscripts of several of his publications as well as his personal correspondence with Margaret Stone Zilboorg.
Zilboorg was born in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
on December 25, 1890 and studied medicine in St. Petersburg. In 1917 he served in the Ministry of Labor for two presidents (Aleksandr Kerenskii
Alexander Kerensky
Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky was a major political leader before and during the Russian Revolutions of 1917.Kerensky served as the second Prime Minister of the Russian Provisional Government until Vladimir Lenin was elected by the All-Russian Congress of Soviets following the October Revolution...
and Georgii L'vov).
Zilboorg emigrated to the United States in 1919 and for a time translated literature from Russian to English while studying medicine at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. Among the works he translated is Evgenii Zamiatin's We.
After graduating in 1926, he worked at the Bloomingdale Hospital and eventually established a psychoanalytic practice in New York City. From the 1930s onward, Zilboorg produced several volumes of lasting importance on the history of psychiatry. The Medical Man and the Witch During the Renaissance began as the Noguchi lectures at Johns Hopkins University in 1935. This volume was followed by A History of Medical Psychology in 1941 and Sigmund Freud in 1951.
Zilboorg's patients included George Gershwin
George Gershwin
George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
, Lillian Hellman
Lillian Hellman
Lillian Florence "Lily" Hellman was an American playwright, linked throughout her life with many left-wing causes...
, Ralph Ingersoll
Ralph Ingersoll (PM publisher)
Ralph McAllister Ingersoll was an American writer, editor, and publisher...
, Edward M.M. Warburg, Marshall Field, Kay Swift
Kay Swift
Kay Swift was an American composer of popular and classical music, the first woman to score a complete musical. Written in 1930, Fine and Dandy includes some of her best known songs; the title song has become a jazz standard. "Can't We Be Friends?" was another important hit...
and James Warburg
James Warburg
James Paul Warburg was an American banker and financial adviser to Franklin D. Roosevelt. His father was Paul Warburg.- Biography :...
. The musical Lady in the Dark
Lady in the Dark
Lady in the Dark is a musical with music by Kurt Weill, lyrics by Ira Gershwin and book and direction by Moss Hart. It was produced by Sam Harris. The protagonist, Liza Elliott, is the unhappy female editor of a fashion magazine, Allure, who is undergoing psychoanalysis...
is reportedly based on Moss Hart
Moss Hart
Moss Hart was an American playwright and theatre director, best known for his interpretations of musical theater on Broadway.-Early years:...
's experience undergoing analysis with Zilboorg.
Zilboorg married Ray Liebow in 1919 and they had two children (Nancy and Gregory, Jr.). He married Margaret Stone in 1946 and they had three children (Caroline, John and Matthew).
Literary Archives
Zilboorg's papers at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript LibraryBeinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Yale University's Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library was a 1963 gift of the Beinecke family. The building was designed by architect Gordon Bunshaft of the firm of Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, and is the largest building in the world reserved exclusively for the preservation of rare books...
, Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, contain manuscripts of several of his publications as well as his personal correspondence with Margaret Stone Zilboorg.
Writings
- The medical man and the witch during the renaissance (1935)
- A history of medical psychology (1941)
- Sigmund Freud (1951)
- Psychology of the criminal act and punishment (1954)
- Psychoanalysis and Religion (1962)
Translations
- He, the one who gets slapped by Leonid Andreyev, translated from the Russian with an introduction by Gregory Zilboorg (19211921 in literatureThe year 1921 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-New books:*Edgar Rice Burroughs – Tarzan the Terrible*James Branch Cabell – Figures of Earth*Hall Caine – The Master of Man*Willa Cather – Alexander's Bridge...
) - We by Evgenii Zamiatin, translated from the Russian by Gregory Zilboorg (19241924 in literatureThe year 1924 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* Ford Madox Ford publishes the first book of a four-volume work titled Parade's End published between 1924 and 1928.-New books:*Michael Arlen - The Green Hat...
) - The criminal, the judge and the public; a psychological analysis by Franz AlexanderFranz AlexanderFranz Gabriel Alexander was a Hungarian-American psychoanalyst and physician, who is considered one of the founders of psychosomatic medicine and psychoanalytic criminology.- Life :...
and Hugo Staub, translated from the German by Gregory Zilboorg (1931) - Outline of clinical psychoanalysis by Otto Fenichel, translated by Bertram D. Lewin and Gregory Zilboorg (1934)