# Max Thorek > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Max_Thorek > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Max_Thorek.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Thorek > Source revision: 1326575782 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|American surgeon}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2024}} {{Infobox person | name = Max Thorek | image = Max Thorek (1880–1960).png | alt = | caption = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1880|3|10|df=yes}} | birth_place = [Hungary](/source/Hungary) | death_date = {{Death date and age|1960|1|25|1880|3|10|df=yes}} | death_place = [Chicago](/source/Chicago), Illinois, US | burial_place = [Rosehill Cemetery](/source/Rosehill_Cemetery) | occupation = Surgeon | awards = | honours = Chevalier, [Legion of Honour](/source/Legion_of_Honour) | spouse = {{Marriage|Fannie "Fim" Unger|16 April 1905}} | children = Phillip Thorek | education = {{Plainlist| * [University of Chicago](/source/University_of_Chicago) * [Rush Medical College](/source/Rush_Medical_College) }} | signature = | party = }} '''Max Thorek''' (10 March 1880 – 25 January 1960) was a Hungarian-American surgeon best known for founding [Thorek Memorial Hospital](/source/Thorek_Memorial_Hospital), the [International College of Surgeons](/source/International_College_of_Surgeons), and the [International Museum of Surgical Science](/source/International_Museum_of_Surgical_Science). ==Biography== Max Thorek was born to a [Jewish](/source/History_of_the_Jews_in_Hungary) family in rural [Hungary](/source/Hungary). Both his parents were doctors: his father was a physician and his mother was a mid-wife with a degree in obstetrics.{{Cite web |last= |date=2022-06-15 |title=Dr. Max Thorek: A Remarkable Chicagoan |url=https://imss.org/2022/06/dr-max-thorek-a-remarkable-chicagoan/ |access-date=2025-07-04 |website=[International Museum of Surgical Science](/source/International_Museum_of_Surgical_Science) |language=en-US}} While Thorek was a student in [Budapest](/source/Budapest), his brother was murdered in an antisemitic [pogrom](/source/pogrom). Thorek's family fled to the United States to escape [antisemitism](/source/Antisemitism_in_Hungary), choosing to settle in [Chicago](/source/Chicago) because they had a relative there. Although Thorek wished to become a doctor, his parents could not afford the cost of tuition. In response, Thorek learned how to play the [snare drum](/source/snare_drum) to qualify for a scholarship from the [University of Chicago Band](/source/University_of_Chicago_Band). After graduating from the [University of Chicago](/source/University_of_Chicago),{{Cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=Max Thorek |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Max-Thorek |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=18 February 2019 |website=[Encyclopedia Britannica](/source/Encyclopedia_Britannica) |language=en}} Thorek completed his medical degree at [Rush Medical College](/source/Rush_Medical_College) in 1904.{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofmedicin00biog/page/860/mode/1up |title=History of Medicine and Surgery, and Physicians and Surgeons of Chicago |date=1922 |publisher=The Biographical Publishing Corporation |place=Chicago |page=860 |access-date=2024-04-30 |via=[Internet Archive](/source/Internet_Archive)}} He later worked in [obstetrics](/source/obstetrics), [gynecology](/source/Gynaecology), [general](/source/internal_medicine), and [reconstructive surgery](/source/reconstructive_surgery), including at [Cook County Hospital](/source/Cook_County_Hospital).{{Cite journal |last= |first= |date=6 February 1960 |title=Obituary: Max Thorek, M.D |url=https://www.bmj.com/content/1/5170/431.3 |journal=[British Medical Journal](/source/British_Medical_Journal) |language=en |publisher=British Medical Journal Publishing Group |volume=1 |issue=5170 |pages=431 |doi=10.1136/bmj.1.5170.431-b |issn=0007-1447 |s2cid=220212178 |url-access=subscription}}{{Cite web |date=1935-05-14 |title=News in Brief |url=https://www.jta.org/archive/news-in-brief-84 |access-date=2025-07-04 |website=[Jewish Telegraphic Agency](/source/Jewish_Telegraphic_Agency) |language=en-US}} On April 16, 1905, Thorek married Fannie "Fim" Unger. Together with Dr. Solomon Greenspahn, they founded the American Hospital in 1911 at 2058 W. Monroe Street. Their goal was to serve patients based on need, regardless of their ability to pay. Thorek had a passion for the theater, and was concerned that many performers had nowhere to turn when they fell ill or were hurt. Therefore, in its early years, they devoted the 25-bed hospital specifically to serving the performing arts community. In 1916, Thorek and Greenspahn moved the hospital to [Irving Park Road](/source/Irving_Park_Road) in [Uptown](/source/Uptown%2C_Chicago), where it still operates as of 2025, now known as [Thorek Memorial Hospital](/source/Thorek_Memorial_Hospital).{{Cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=A History of Caring |url=https://www.thorek.org/about-us/history |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=3 July 2025 |website=Thorek Memorial Hospital |language=en}} The hospital has cared for famous performers such as [Mae West](/source/Mae_West), [Harry Houdini](/source/Harry_Houdini), [Buffalo Bill](/source/Buffalo_Bill), the [Marx Brothers](/source/Marx_Brothers), [Sarah Bernhardt](/source/Sarah_Bernhardt), and [Al Jolson](/source/Al_Jolson). In the 1930s, Thorek introduced a surgical technique that significantly reduced the mortality rate in gallbladder operations.{{Cite web |title=Our Founder |url=https://icsglobal.org/our-founder/ |access-date=2025-07-04 |website=[International College of Surgeons](/source/International_College_of_Surgeons) |language=en}} In 1935, he founded the [International College of Surgeons](/source/International_College_of_Surgeons) and was awarded the [Legion of Honour](/source/Legion_of_Honour) by the French government in recognition of his contribution to science and his humanitarian work. Thorek became an internationally acclaimed amateur photographer during the pictorialist movement, and author of several books on the subject, including ''Camera Art as a Means of Self-Expression'' (1947) and ''Creative Camera Art'' (1937). In 1943, he published his autobiography entitled ''A Surgeon's World''.[http://www.ics-japan.org/topimg/International%20College%20of%20Surgeons%20Past,Present,and%20Future%2016.pdf ''International College of Surgeons: Past, Present, and Future'']. Henry Ling Ltd, The Dorsct Press, Dorchester (1995). In 1954, Thorek founded the [International Museum of Surgical Science](/source/International_Museum_of_Surgical_Science) in a [Gold Coast](/source/Gold_Coast_Historic_District_(Chicago)) mansion. Unfortunately, despite his many contributions to society, Thorek continued to endure [antisemitic discrimination](/source/Antisemitism_in_the_United_States) even after moving to the United States. In 1930, for instance, Thorek was forced to file a lawsuit against the 3920 [Lake Shore Drive](/source/Lake_Shore_Drive) Building Corporation for refusing to allow his family to move into an apartment they owned because they were Jewish. Thorek died in Chicago on 25 January 1960. He is buried at [Rosehill Cemetery](/source/Rosehill_Cemetery). [[File:Thorek Mausoleum Rosehill Cemetery 2020-2424.jpg|thumb|Thorek Mausoleum at [Rosehill Cemetery](/source/Rosehill_Cemetery)]] ==References== {{Reflist|30em}} ==Further reading== *[https://www.facs.org/~/media/files/archives/fellowshipsurgeonsdavis.ashx ''Fellowship of Surgeons: A History of the American College of Surgeons'']. Loyal Davis ==External links== * {{Internet Archive author |sname=Max Thorek}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Thorek, Max}} Category:1880 births Category:1960 deaths Category:Hungarian surgeons Category:Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to the United States Category:Physicians from Chicago Category:20th-century American surgeons Category:University of Chicago alumni Category:Rush Medical College alumni Category:Burials at Rosehill Cemetery Category:20th-century American Jews Category:Hungarian Jews --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Max Thorek](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Thorek) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Thorek?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.