Renowned Pediatrician and Author Brazelton Dies at 99
T. Berry Brazelton '36, a renowned pediatrician and best-selling author of books on parenting, died March 13 at his home in Barnstable, Mass. He was 99.
Dr. Brazelton authored hundreds of scholarly papers and two dozen books, including his best-selling "Touchpoints" books. He received the EHS Distinguished Alumni Award in 1990.
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Brazelton was featured in a 2012 Harvard Magazine article highlighting his development of the Neonatal or Newborn Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS). The article credits Brazelton and his research in helping to "start a shift in pediatrics from pathologizing anything that differs from a single cultural norm to asking what adaptive purpose different cultural practices might serve" as well as in how special-needs children are perceived and raised.
After Episcopal, he graduated from Princeton University in 1940 and received his M.D. from Columbia University in 1943. He served as a shipboard physician in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He taught at Harvard Medical School for decades and also ran his own pediatrics practice. He was a strong supporter of having a Parental Leave law in the United States. He received the Smithsonian’s McGovern Award in recognition of his “outstanding contribution to civilization and to the American family.”
In 2008, Brazelton wrote, “EHS was my first encounter after growing up in Waco, Texas. I knew I was headed for Princeton. EHS gave me the first feeling of approving my intellectual ability since I was not a great athlete. I began to feel good about my competencies, worked hard at EHS, and learned a lot which carried me into Princeton. I had a great time there and ever since. Thanks to the EHS base and turn-around of my self-image I have gone on to be a pediatrician, a baby doctor, and have had an illustrious career. Thanks EHS!”
At EHS, Brazelton received the Blackford Literary Society Debater’s Medal in 1935 and the Reader’s Medal in 1936, the Whittle Prize in 1935 and 1936, the Chemistry prize in 1935, the Laird Prize in 1936, the Randolph Fairfax Memorial Prize in 1936, the Mathematics Prize in 1936, and was valedictorian. He played for the spring tennis and winter track teams.After Episcopal, he graduated from Princeton University in 1940 and received his M.D. from Columbia University in 1943. He served as a shipboard physician in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He taught at Harvard Medical School for decades and also ran his own pediatrics practice. He was a strong supporter of having a Parental Leave law in the United States. He received the Smithsonian’s McGovern Award in recognition of his “outstanding contribution to civilization and to the American family.”
Berry is predeceased by his brother Churchill Jones Brazelton ’38 and wife Christina. He is survived by children Catherine Brazelton, Pauline Brazelton, Christina Brazelton, Thomas B. Brazelton, III; and five grandchildren.
Read more about Brazelton's life here, in an article published in The Washington Post.
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