Louise Wensel
Encyclopedia
Louise Wensel M.D.
, born in Fargo, ND Mary Louise Oftedal (24 December 1918-13 February 2005), ran as an independent Senate
candidate against incumbent Harry F. Byrd
in the U.S. state of Virginia
in 1958. Byrd was widely regarded as playing the role not only of United States Senator, but also as effective political boss of the entire state. He was notorious for his role in the decision within the state of Virginia to close public schools rather than submit to court-ordered racial desegregation. Wensel's candidacy was based on her opposition to the closing of public schools and to all forms of discrimination. Despite death threats, violent attacks on campaign supporters and cross burnings, Dr. Wensel received widespread support and more than 23 percent of the official vote count in an election governed by the Jim Crow policies that characterized Virginia elections prior to the Voting Rights Act.
After the 1958 elections Wensel continued as a practicing physician until a few years prior to her death in Charlottesville, Virginia
in 2005. For much of her career she specialized in psychiatry
, and in the 1970s played a major role in introducing acupuncture
as a mainstream treatment approach in U.S. medicine. She founded the Washington Acupuncture Center, with offices in Washington, D.C.
, Baltimore, Maryland, and Florida
, and wrote the textbook Acupuncture in Medical Practice (Reston Pub. Co., 1980). She was active throughout her life in movements for world peace and women's rights.
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
, born in Fargo, ND Mary Louise Oftedal (24 December 1918-13 February 2005), ran as an independent Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
candidate against incumbent Harry F. Byrd
Harry F. Byrd
Harry Flood Byrd, Sr. of Berryville in Clarke County, Virginia, was an American newspaper publisher, farmer and politician. He was a descendant of one of the First Families of Virginia...
in the U.S. state of Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
in 1958. Byrd was widely regarded as playing the role not only of United States Senator, but also as effective political boss of the entire state. He was notorious for his role in the decision within the state of Virginia to close public schools rather than submit to court-ordered racial desegregation. Wensel's candidacy was based on her opposition to the closing of public schools and to all forms of discrimination. Despite death threats, violent attacks on campaign supporters and cross burnings, Dr. Wensel received widespread support and more than 23 percent of the official vote count in an election governed by the Jim Crow policies that characterized Virginia elections prior to the Voting Rights Act.
After the 1958 elections Wensel continued as a practicing physician until a few years prior to her death in Charlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville is an independent city geographically surrounded by but separate from Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom.The official population estimate for...
in 2005. For much of her career she specialized in psychiatry
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
, and in the 1970s played a major role in introducing acupuncture
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is a type of alternative medicine that treats patients by insertion and manipulation of solid, generally thin needles in the body....
as a mainstream treatment approach in U.S. medicine. She founded the Washington Acupuncture Center, with offices in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, Baltimore, Maryland, and Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, and wrote the textbook Acupuncture in Medical Practice (Reston Pub. Co., 1980). She was active throughout her life in movements for world peace and women's rights.
Sources
- George Lewis, "'Any Old Joe Named Zilch?': The Senatorial Campaign of Dr. Louise Oftedal Wensel," Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 107, no.3 (Summer 1999): 287-316.
External links
- Guide to Louise Wensel Papers at the University of Virginia