Abstract Details

Title “Stranger than fiction”: the nineteenth-century media coverage of the case of Phineas Gage

Topic History of Neurology

Presentation(s) P10 - Poster Session 10 (8:00 AM-9:00 AM)

Poster/Presentation
Number 1-003

Background

The case of Phineas Gage, a victim of a remarkable brain injury in 1848, has been exhaustively analyzed by Malcolm MacMillan in his book “An odd kind of fame. Stories of Phineas Gage” (The MIT Press, 2000). However, “only five reasonably different newspapers reports” were retrieved by MacMillan and his team of researchers within local archives. Based on MacMillan's assumption that “there are almost certainly more reports than [they] found”, we decided to look for the existence of such articles using new resources: digitized newspapers archives, available online.

Objective To describe and review the nineteenth-century media coverage of the case of Phineas Gage in the United States (US), England and France.

Design/Methods Screening of online American (Newspapers.com®), English (The British Newspaper Archive®) and French (Retronews®) newspapers archives, with the search term “Phineas Gage”, between 1848 and 1899.

Results We found several other articles mentioning Gage on top of the 1848-1849 reports cited by MacMillan. In the US, the nineteenth-century media coverage included the initial accident (1848-1850), Gage's visit to Prof. Bigelow in Boston and the display of his skull cast and iron bar in the Museum of the Massachusetts Medical College (1850), Gage's death and the presentation of his skull to the Massachusetts Medical Society by Dr. Harlow (1868). Finally, a similar case (a man who survived with “nearly two inches of knife-blade penetrating his brain”) revived interest in the history of Gage at the end of the century (1893). To be noted, the story of Gage’s accident is also quoted by a French newspaper in 1850 and later on by British newspapers (1850).

Conclusions Several reports tracing the story of Phineas Gage, from his accident to his death, were published between 1848 and 1893 in US newspapers, confirming MacMillan's hypothesis. Newly digitalized databases appear to be a valuable tool in historical research.

Authors/Disclosures
Manon Auffret, PhD, PharmD (Behavior & Basal Ganglia - CHU Rennes/ Universite de Rennes 1) PRESENTER	Dr. Auffret has received personal compensation for serving as an employee of France Développement Electronique. The institution of Dr. Auffret has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving as a Consultant for Britannia. Dr. Auffret has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving as a Consultant for Aguettant. Dr. Auffret has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving on a Scientific Advisory or Data Safety Monitoring board for Britannia. Dr. Auffret has received personal compensation in the range of $5,000-$9,999 for serving on a Speakers Bureau for Britannia. Dr. Auffret has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving on a Speakers Bureau for Aguettant. The institution of Dr. Auffret has received research support from Association France Parkinson. The institution of Dr. Auffret has received research support from Homeperf. The institution of Dr. Auffret has received research support from LVL. The institution of Dr. Auffret has received research support from University of Rennes. The institution of Dr. Auffret has received research support from Aguettant. The institution of Dr. Auffret has received research support from Linde. The institution of Dr. Auffret has received research support from Plateforme Nationale pour la recherche sur la fin de vie. Dr. Auffret has received publishing royalties from a publication relating to health care. Dr. Auffret has received publishing royalties from a publication relating to health care.