To Each His Due

Charles Bell died in 1842. Many of his achievements have been forgotten, but they were nevertheless substantial. Physicians and surgeons know of him primarily because of the facial weakness and its associated signs named after him. New generations of scientists and educators, of surgeons and artists, should bear in mind the foundations on which they themselves build, but they should avoid the mistakes made by Bell. His quarrels with others over priority for certain discoveries, and the alteration of his previously published papers to support his claims, should be recalled—if at all—with regret for the behavior that marred an otherwise exceptional career. He was a brilliant but flawed human being who contributed much to the advance of knowledge.