AUA Summit - Frank B. Bicknell: Co-Founder of the Society of Pediatric Urology and the American Urological Association History Forum
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  4. Issue 11 - Fall 2022
  5. Frank B. Bicknell: Co-Founder of the Society of Pediatric Urology and the American Urological Association History Forum

Frank B. Bicknell: Co-Founder of the Society of Pediatric Urology and the American Urological Association History Forum

Frank Bartholomew Bicknell (1907-1999) grew up in Grosse Pointe, Michigan and attended the University of Michigan (1925-1928) and University of Michigan Medical School (1928-1932) prior to his internship and urology residency at the Receiving Hospital in Detroit Michigan (1932-1936). He served in the Merchant Marine in the 1930s, sailing around the world, and married Alesia Loranger in 1942. In 1943, he was a Captain in the Army at Station Hospital, Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and served as a major in World War II. He would practice at the Children's Hospital of Michigan, serve as Chief of Urology at Harper and Hutzel, and was also a Professor of Urology at Wayne State University. He served as president of the North Central Section of the American Urological Association (AUA) in 1966.

Dr. Frank Hinman Jr. pinpoints the time of 1948 as the origin of the pediatric urology specialty. During a cab ride with Dr. Harry Spence to the Boston Pops, Dr. Frank Bicknell raised the idea for a pediatric urology society. One year later, Dr. David Innes Williams, in London, would begin to focus his practice in the pediatric urology arena. In 1951, Dr. Bicknell got together a small group of seven urologists interested in pediatric urology during the AUA Annual Meeting in Chicago. Drs. Campbell, Barber, Johnson, Mertz, Hinman Jr., Lattimer, and Spence all met in Dr. Bicknell's Chicago hotel room and would form The Society for Pediatric Urology. At the time, Dr. Bicknell's brother-in-law had just become president of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). With the help of Dr. Bicknell's brother-in-law, Dr. John Lattimer was able to get a room at the AAP meeting, which he filled with 2500 people, thought to be the largest collection of urologists in one room at the time. The success of the session led to the organization of the AAP Section of Urology in 1960 (becoming a permanent section in 1971). It also impressed upon the AUA the magnitude of interest in pediatric urology. This allowed pediatric urologists to secure an exclusive session on the day before the main AUA meeting, which has persisted since that time.

Frank Hinman, MD

Harry Spence, MD

John Lattimore, MD

Dr. Bicknell introduced a History of Urology Club at the 1965 AUA annual meeting. He chaired this popular event during its first decade, after which it was renamed the Forum on the History of Urology. The Forum now occupies an entire afternoon during the annual meeting, with papers presented on historic urologic topics. The highlight of this assembly is the annual lecture on the history of medicine. In 2000, this oration was renamed the Frank Bicknell History of Urology Oration to honor the founder of the History Forum. Dr. Bicknell was invited to the 2000 AUA Annual Meeting in Atlanta to attend the Forum for the first oration in his name, but he, unfortunately, passed away at the age of 92 on July 13, 1999. Dr. Frank Bicknell was an early leader in pediatric urology, and urologic history who helped found The Society of Pediatric Urology and the AUA History Forum.

AUA Forum on the History of Urology, 2022: still going strong!

References

  1. Dr. Frank Bicknell Obituary. The Clare Sentinel, Clare, MI, July 20, 1999, p. 8
  2. Jones LW, Peters PC, Husser WC. American Urological Association Centennial History: 1902 – 2002, American Urological Association, Baltimore MD, © 2001; pp775-783
  3. Bloom DA, Kogan BA. Conversations with Frank Hinman, Jr. Urology 2001;57:843-846.
  4. Bloom DA, Hensle T. A Chat with John Lattimer. Urology 2000;56:179-181.
  5. American Urological Association Executive Committee Meeting Minutes, May 1966
  6. American Urological Association Executive Committee Meeting Minutes, May 13, 1965
  7. Jones LW, Peters PC, Husser WC. American Urological Association Centennial History: 1902 – 2002, American Urological Association, Baltimore MD, © 2001; pp186

Authors

Sutchin R. Patel1, David A. Bloom2, Anthony A. Caldamone3

  1. Department of Urology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison WI
  2. Department of Urology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor MI
  3. Hasbro Children’s Hospital, Division of Urology, Warren Alpert Medical School, Providence RI
Sutchin R. Patel David A. Bloom Anthony A. Caldamone