Heinz Lehmann facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Heinz Edgar Lehmann
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| Born | July 17, 1911 |
| Died | April 7, 1999 (aged 87) |
| Awards | Lasker Award, Order of Canada |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | psychiatrist |
Heinz Edgar Lehmann OC FRSC (July 17, 1911 – April 7, 1999) was a famous Canadian psychiatrist. He was born in Germany.
He is best known for using a medicine called chlorpromazine to help people with schizophrenia in the 1950s. Many people call him the "father of modern psychopharmacology" because of his important work with medicines for the mind.
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Early Life and Moving to Canada
Heinz Edgar Lehmann was born in Berlin, Germany. He studied at several universities there.
In 1937, he moved to Canada. He started working at the Montreal Children's Hospital. There, he improved his English skills.
Just before World War II began, he became a junior psychiatrist. This was at the Verdun Protestant Hospital, which is now called Douglas Mental Health University Institute. He lived on the hospital grounds. He met his future wife, Annette, who was a nurse. Their son, François, was born in 1944.
Important Hospital Work in Canada
In 1947, Dr. Lehmann became the clinical director of Montreal's Douglas Hospital. From 1971 to 1975, he led the Department of Psychiatry at McGill University.
He was also a kind and understanding lecturer. In 1952, he gave talks about the difficulties faced by people with mental health issues. These included anxiety, depression, and paranoia.
At that time, it was very hard to understand or help patients with serious mental illnesses. These patients often filled mental hospitals around the world.
Then, two new medicines brought hope. The first was chlorpromazine (also called Largactil), which arrived from France in 1953. The second was imipramine (Tofranil), which came from Switzerland in 1958. Both of these medicines showed great promise in helping patients.
Awards and Recognition
Dr. Lehmann received many important awards for his work. In 1957, he was given the Lasker Award. In 1962, he received the Stratton Award.
In 1970, he became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. This is a high honor for Canadian scholars. In 1976, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. This is one of Canada's highest civilian honors. In 1998, he was added to the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame.
Awards in His Name
After his death, several awards were created to honor Dr. Heinz Lehmann.
In 1999, the Canadian College of Neuropsychopharmacology started the Heinz Lehmann Award. This award recognizes great research in the field of neuropsychopharmacology in Canada.
There are also other awards named after him. These include the Heinz Lehmann Award of Excellence from the Quebec Psychiatric Association. The New York State Office of Mental Health also created the Heinz E. Lehmann Research Award.
