Norton Folsom, MD, a Civil War veteran, early mental health specialist and leader of Massachusetts General Hospital from 1872 to 1877, is remembered as a man of “good temper and invariable kindness.”

Among his notable achievements, Folsom advanced the science of smell and taste; raised awareness of the health risks of scurvy among Union troops; provided compassionate care for patients with mental illness and supported the growth of the Mass General training school for nurses.

Early Years and Civil War Service

Folsom was born in Boston on April 15, 1842. His early years were spent in Cambridge, MA, where he attended high school.

In 1859, Folsom began his studies at Harvard Medical School (HMS). His education was interrupted in 1861 by the outbreak of the Civil War, however, and in September of that year he enlisted in the Union Army.

He served a year as a medical cadet, participating in the Battle of Cross Keys, Virginia, before returning to Harvard Medical School (HMS) to complete his medical education.

After graduating from HMS in 1864, Folsom served as a house pupil at Mass General before rejoining the Union Army. During his second stint in the army, Folsom was a surgeon for the 45^th U.S. Colored Troops of the 25^th Army Corps.

In this role, he raised awareness about the severe disease outbreaks in the camps he was inspecting—particularly scurvy—and linked many of the health problems back to poor food and a lack of fresh vegetables.

Advancing the Science of Smell and Taste

In 1863, Folsom was selected by the Boylston Medical Society as the winner of the society’s annual prize for best medical dissertation for an undergraduate. Folsom was recognized for his essay in the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal on the senses of “Smell and Taste.”

In addition to providing a detailed anatomy of the nose and mouth, Folsom’s essay describes two types of impressions made by articles of food: “[O]ne of savors, of which salt affords an example; the other of flavors, as that of vanilla. Most substances have both properties; thus a strawberry has an acid and sweet taste besides its own delicious flavor.”

Folsom says that all flavors are perceived by the sense of smell only—if the nasal passages are blocked then the tongue can only sense four different tastes: sweet, sour, salt and bitter*.

According to Folsom, this can be demonstrated by having someone hold their nose shut while drinking water with a vanilla extract—without the sense of smell, the taste is indistinguishable from plain water.

*(Editor’s note: The fifth taste, umami, was first scientifically identified in 1908 in Japan and thus was not included in Folsom’s paper).

Medical Leadership After the War

After the Civil War ended in 1866, Folsom took a job as an assistant physician at the Taunton Lunatic Hospital. He was well-liked while working there, described by the trustees as a “man of good temper and invariable kindness.”

In 1867, when the superintendent of the asylum took a leave of absence to tour Europe, Folsom was named acting superintendent and earned additional praise from the trustees for his conduct in that role.

It seems that the Taunton facility was ahead of its time when it came for caring and treatment of patients with mental health disorders.

As Folsom reported, “So far as bodily condition is concerned, this is a remarkably healthy place. Among over 400 patients and employees, there is but one case of acute disease, and tomorrow there may be none.”

Folsom returned to Mass General in 1869 as a resident physician and served as superintendent—a role equivalent to hospital president—from 1872 to 1877.

As superintendent, Folsom played a key role in helping the hospital’s new training school for nurses get up and running.

In a history of the nursing school published in 1920, Linda Richards—the first trained nurse in the United States and an early leader of the school—said that if not for the patience and kindness displayed by Folsom during those early years, “I doubt if the growth of the school would have been so rapid.”

In 1875, Folsom was one of five people chosen as experts to give advice to the board of trustees who would later build Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. 

His plans earned high praise from the members of the Massachusetts Medical Society who described them as “clearly defined, detailed, sensible recommendations.”

“It does not detract from the value of his suggestions that many of them are simply modifications of plans and methods already in successful operation under his own supervision at the Massachusetts General Hospital,” the society wrote. “Indeed, that fact rather adds to their value, in that they have been tried and have not been found wanting.”

Later Years

Folsom stepped down from his position at Mass General in 1877 due to declining health. Upon his retirement, the Boston Medical Surgical Journal noted: “The four years that Dr. Folsom has held this position have been unusually important ones in the history of the hospital.”  

In his later years of private practice in Cambridge, MA, he was recognized as an expert on mental disease.

Folsom died at home in September of 1903. An obituary in the Cambridge Chronicle describes him as someone with a genial temper who enjoyed participating in local dramatic productions and spending time with his many friends, including old army associates.

“He was a companionable man, reserved socially, but with his intimates, jocose and amiable.”