Benjamin Spock.

On May 2, 1903, in New Haven, Connecticut, Benjamin Spock was born to Mildred Louise Stoughton and Benjamin Ives Spock, a Yale-educated lawyer. He attended Hamden Hall Country Day School and Phillips Academy before enrolling at Yale University, where he joined the rowing team. At the 1924 Paris Olympics, Spock and his crew won the gold medal in the eight-man rowing event. After earning an undergraduate degree from Yale, he entered Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, later completing his medical training at Yale School of Medicine.

Baby and Child Care, first published in 1946, became one of the best-selling books of the 20th century, promoting a flexible, common-sense approach to child rearing that contrasted with the rigid discipline of earlier eras. Spock appeared on Not for Women Only 1968, The Art Linkletter Show 1963, and Valentine’s Day 1964, reaching a national audience. He also served as a pediatrician at the Mayo Clinic and taught at the University of Pittsburgh and Case Western Reserve University. His outspoken opposition to the Vietnam War and advocacy for nuclear disarmament drew sharp criticism, but he continued to revise Baby and Child Care until his death.

Spock married Jane Cheney on June 25, 1927; they had two sons, Michael and John. The marriage ended in divorce in 1976 after 48 years. That same year, he married Mary Morgan, who had been his research assistant; they remained together until his death in 1998. Spock’s grandson Peter, son of Michael, died by suicide in December 1983 at age 22. He was a lifelong liberal who openly supported abortion rights, homosexuality, and a guaranteed basic income for families.

Baby and Child Care sold over 50 million copies and changed how parents raised children. Spock received the Humanist of the Year award, the Gandhi Peace Award for his anti-war activism, and the E. Mead Johnson Award for pediatric research. He encouraged parents to trust their judgment and treat children as individuals. Spock is remembered for transforming pediatric advice and for winning an Olympic gold medal.