The enigmatic figure of Leon Pierce Clark and his contribution to epilepsy

Abstract

Leon Pierce Clark (1870‐1933) was a prominent American neurologist and psychiatrist and an enigmatic figure. He made enduring contributions to status epilepticus and to epilepsy. In the 1910s and 1920s, his chief focus was on the psychological mechanisms of epilepsy and on the personality of those with idiopathic epilepsy which he interpreted from a psychoanalytical perspective. He also described the epileptic voice sign, wrote psychobiographies of among others Abraham Lincoln and Napoleon Bonaparte, and published a book of poetry. He held many important positions in American professional societies and yet was embroiled in controversy.