J. Fortescue
Encyclopedia
Honorable J. Fortescue was a nonexistent US
surgeon and founder of the International Board of Hygiene that the League of Nations
recognised in 1926.
Honorable J. Fortescue was a brainchild of San Diego
pathologist Rawson Pickard. The International Board of Hygiene was little else than a group of drinking friends who had founded it in a Turf Bar in Tijuana
, Baja California
, during the Prohibition
. The original Sir John Fortescue (1385-1479) was an English lawyer.
Because most of the meetings were organised outside the borders of the USA, the Board had to be international, and because many of the members were medical professionals, its theme was hygiene
(The League of Nations already had its own International Board of Health). Anyone who had attended the meeting once became a lifetime member. On October 21, 1926 Pickard sent a long letter to the League of Nations HQ in Geneva and received recognition in a couple of weeks.
In the following years, various organisations and publications expressed interest about the Board and its reclusive president Fortescue. The United States National Research Council
included him in a directory of child psychologists and he was invited to join the American Conference on Hospital Service. Pickard wrote very many articles in Fortescue's name and answered journalistic enquiries in his stead. Apparently none of the recipients ever bothered to check his credentials.
At the same time, the membership of the International Board of Hygiene spread by invitation. Every meeting was concluded with the reading of a scientific paper.
In 1936 Who's Who in San Diego included an entry about Fortescue, listing his multiple publications, memberships in associations, medical studies and travels, including winning the Fleischmann prize (actually a letter-writing contest for Fleischmann's Yeast). It also claimed that his mother was Lola Montez
and that he lived in Paris. His only official address was "The International Board of Hygiene, 1908 Eutaw Place, Baltimore
, Maryland
". Some of the studies would have been really groundbreaking at the time, preceding such scientific studies like Kinsey surveys
.
Rawson Pickard died in 1963. The correspondence of the Honorable J. Fortescue ceased as well.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
surgeon and founder of the International Board of Hygiene that the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
recognised in 1926.
Honorable J. Fortescue was a brainchild of San Diego
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
pathologist Rawson Pickard. The International Board of Hygiene was little else than a group of drinking friends who had founded it in a Turf Bar in Tijuana
Tijuana
Tijuana is the largest city on the Baja California Peninsula and center of the Tijuana metropolitan area, part of the international San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area. An industrial and financial center of Mexico, Tijuana exerts a strong influence on economics, education, culture, art, and politics...
, Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
, during the Prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
. The original Sir John Fortescue (1385-1479) was an English lawyer.
Because most of the meetings were organised outside the borders of the USA, the Board had to be international, and because many of the members were medical professionals, its theme was hygiene
Hygiene
Hygiene refers to the set of practices perceived by a community to be associated with the preservation of health and healthy living. While in modern medical sciences there is a set of standards of hygiene recommended for different situations, what is considered hygienic or not can vary between...
(The League of Nations already had its own International Board of Health). Anyone who had attended the meeting once became a lifetime member. On October 21, 1926 Pickard sent a long letter to the League of Nations HQ in Geneva and received recognition in a couple of weeks.
In the following years, various organisations and publications expressed interest about the Board and its reclusive president Fortescue. The United States National Research Council
United States National Research Council
The National Research Council of the USA is the working arm of the United States National Academies, carrying out most of the studies done in their names.The National Academies include:* National Academy of Sciences...
included him in a directory of child psychologists and he was invited to join the American Conference on Hospital Service. Pickard wrote very many articles in Fortescue's name and answered journalistic enquiries in his stead. Apparently none of the recipients ever bothered to check his credentials.
At the same time, the membership of the International Board of Hygiene spread by invitation. Every meeting was concluded with the reading of a scientific paper.
In 1936 Who's Who in San Diego included an entry about Fortescue, listing his multiple publications, memberships in associations, medical studies and travels, including winning the Fleischmann prize (actually a letter-writing contest for Fleischmann's Yeast). It also claimed that his mother was Lola Montez
Lola Montez
Eliza Rosanna Gilbert, Countess of Landsfeld , better known by the stage name Lola Montez, was an Irish dancer and actress who became famous as a "Spanish dancer", courtesan and mistress of King Ludwig I of Bavaria, who made her Countess of Landsfeld. She used her influence to institute liberal...
and that he lived in Paris. His only official address was "The International Board of Hygiene, 1908 Eutaw Place, Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
". Some of the studies would have been really groundbreaking at the time, preceding such scientific studies like Kinsey surveys
Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction
The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction is a nonprofit research institute at Indiana University. It was established in Bloomington, Indiana in 1947...
.
Rawson Pickard died in 1963. The correspondence of the Honorable J. Fortescue ceased as well.