Name Elmer Belt | Books Leonardo the Anatomist | |
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Born April 10, 1893Chicago, Illinois ( 1893-04-10 ) Alma mater University of California, Berkeley Died May 1980, Los Angeles, California, United States Education University of California, Berkeley | ||
Elmer Belt (April 10, 1893 – May 1980) was an American urologist, surgeon and pioneer in sex reassignment surgery. He was also known as a collector of works relating to Leonardo da Vinci that now reside in the University of California, Los Angeles Library System.
Contents
- Early life and education
- Career
- Marriage and children
- Death and afterward
- Published works
- Awards and honors
- References
Early life and education
Arthur Elmer Belt was born April 10, 1893. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 1916, a master's in 1917 and a doctorate's in 1920. Belt was a member of the first class taught by Herbert McLean Evans.
Career
Dr. Belt was associate professor of urology and clinical professor of surgery at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine. Dr. Belt began performing male to female sex change operations after being contacted by Dr. Harry Benjamin. Before the Christine Jorgensen story became headline news, Belt had been quietly performing sex changes for a few years. He performed primarily male-to-female operations but did perform a few female-to-male. Some of his most well known patients were Patricia Morgan, Mario Martino and Aleshia Brevard. After family pressure, Dr. Belt finally ceased performing sex change operations in 1962.
Dr. and Mrs. Belt gave some notable collections to Los Angeles-area academic libraries:
Marriage and children
Belt married the former Mary Ruth Smart in 1919. The couple had two sons, Charles Elmer and Bruce Gregory.
Death and afterward
Dr. Belt died in May 1980.