Dr. George Huntington (1850-1916) and Huntington’s Disease

Dr. George Huntington (1850-1916), pictured above, was born April 9, 1850 in East Hampton to Mary Hoogland and George Lee Huntington, a physician. George’s grandfather, Abel Huntington, also practiced medicine, serving as Suffolk County Coroner after moving to East Hampton from Connecticut in 1797. George grew up accompanying his father on his medical rounds, eventually entering the family profession.

In 1871, George graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University and went home to join his father, accompanying him on medical visits for a few months. While home, George also enjoyed painting, fishing, and violin lessons. Soon after he decided to move to Pomeroy, Ohio to start his own practice. It is believed that sometime between arriving home from school and moving to Ohio is when he began drafting the paper that would make him a household name.

In Middleport, Ohio, on February 15, 1872, George gave a talk about his paper, "On Chorea". This paper was an early description of a disease that affects the nervous system. The term Chorea is based on

the Greek word choreia, meaning a dance, which was used to describe the symptom of involuntary muscle movements patients displayed. George recognized these symptoms in his grandfather’s medical records, impacting the same families he treated. His paper appeared in the Medical and Surgical Reporter of Philadelphia that April when he was only 22 years old.

Today we know this as Huntington’s disease, which is an inherited disorder that causes the death of brain cells. George Huntington became interested in this because of his father and grandfather’s experience with families in East Hampton that suffered from the disease. George Huntington

married Mary E. Heckard of Pomeroy, Ohio on October 6, 1874 and they had six children. George died on March 3, 1916 in Cairo, New York.