author
Louis Berman
1893–1946
A New York physician and early endocrinologist, he wrote lively popular books that linked hormones, personality, health, and human potential. His work captured the bold optimism—and the controversy—surrounding gland science in the early twentieth century.
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About the author
Louis Berman was an American physician and endocrinologist, born in 1893 and active in New York. A historical study of his career describes him as a popular medical writer who earned his M.D. from Columbia University in 1915, worked at Mount Sinai Hospital, and spent much of his life as an experimental and clinical endocrinologist.
He became best known for books that brought endocrine theory to a broad audience, including The Glands Regulating Personality (1922), The Personal Equation (1925), Food and Character, and New Creations in Human Beings. Contemporary editions and library records also identify him as an associate in biological chemistry at Columbia University.
Berman wrote with confidence about how hormones might shape personality, behavior, and even the future of humanity. Later historians note that these ideas helped make him a widely read and influential public voice in the exciting early years of endocrinology, even as some of his larger claims now read as products of their era.