Graeme Hammond

Graeme Monroe Hammond (February 1, 1858 – October 30, 1944) was an American neurologist and sportsman who advocated for physical exercise as treatment for nervous disorders. He served as an officer of the American Neurological Association for twenty years. Hammond was a competitive fencer who competed in the 1912 Olympics, helped found the Amateur Fencers League of America and served as president emeritus of the American Olympic Association.

Early life and education Graeme Monroe Hammond was born on February 1, 1858, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of neurologist and Surgeon General of the United States Army Brigadier General William Alexander Hammond. "I shall never forget the sweetness of the man nor the understandings which he showed in dealings with a little boy... we were play fellows and even the soldiers who accompanied us, I felt, were doing so as much for me as they were for the man who would take me in his great hands and set me beside himself in the carriage." Hammond graduated from the Columbia School of Mines in 1877. He then earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from New York University School of Medicine in 1881. On April 27 of the same year, Hammond married Louise Elsworth with whom he had four daughters during the 1880s. While teaching at NYU, Hammond continued his education, earning a Bachelor of Laws in 1897.

Medical career During his entire professional career, Hammond was a professor of nervous and mental diseases at NYU School of Medicine, serving as the chair in neurology from 1898 to 1920.

Advocacy of exercise Hammond was a lifelong advocate of regular physical exercise as a prevention and cure for most diseases, including nervous and mental disorders. According to the Harvard Gay & Lesbian Review, Hammond thought that homosexuality was caused by "nervous exhaustion and that bicycle exercise would restore health and heterosexuality."

Hammond supported the enlistment of women as combat soldiers during World War I. He believed that women would make better soldiers than men and that he would prefer to see mixed regiments of men and women. "If women could acquire the physical strength and could be disciplined -- (make a note of that) AND COULD BE DISCIPLINED -- they would dominate the earth." At the age of 54, Hammond competed in the individual foil and épée events at the 1912 Summer Olympics. He was eliminated in the first round of both events, placing fourth in each qualifying pool. Hammond later served as president of the New York Athletic Club and was the president emeritus of the American Olympic Association from 1930 to 1932.

Hammond was a roll of honor inductee into the United States Fencing Hall of Fame where he is "generally regarded as the father of American fencing."

Later life and death Hammond, who both smoked and drank daily, advocated consistent and proper exercise as the key to good health. He continued a daily regimen of running into his 80s and on his birthdays ran four miles on a track "just to prove to myself that I am not getting old. And I plan to keep it up as long as I live, which probably won't be much over 110." At the age of 86, Hammond slipped into a coma and died two weeks later, on October 30, 1944. He was survived by two of his four daughters.