Osler goes viral: "The Fixed Period" revisited

William Osler's parting address to faculty at the Johns Hopkins University, given on February 22, 1905, and published as "The Fixed Period," clouded his departure from North America after reporters sensationalized a playful suggestion that aging professors be chloroformed. A newly available collection of newspaper clippings affords a semiquantitative analysis of the press reaction. Only 40% of the writers openly criticized Osler. Some (about 15%) defended him; many (33%) merely attempted humor; and a few (about 6%) wrote poetry. Often overlooked are the main points of Osler's address: awareness of one's place in the adult life cycle and the need for self-renewal with advancing age.