# Michael Gelfand

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African professor of medicine (1912–1985)

Michael Gelfand, CBE Born (1912-12-26)26 December 1912 Wynberg, Cape Town, Cape Province, Union of South Africa Died 19 July 1985(1985-07-19) (aged 73) Harare, Zimbabwe Alma mater University of Cape Town Occupation Physician Known for working as a tropical medic Awards Order of the Knighthood of St. Sylvester, OBE, CBE Scientific career Fields Medicine Institutions Godfrey Huggins School of Medicine

**Michael Gelfand**, [CBE](/source/CBE), (December 1912 – July 1985) was a Zimbabwean medical practitioner of tropical medicine, who received a [Papal](/source/Papal) Order of the Knighthood of St. Sylvester.[1]

## Early life and education

Gelfand was born 26 December, 1912 in [Wynberg](/source/Wynberg%2C_Cape_Town), [Cape Province](/source/Cape_Province), [Union of South Africa](/source/Union_of_South_Africa) to immigrant Jewish-Lithuanian parents.[2] He attended [Wynberg Boys' High School](/source/Wynberg_Boys'_High_School) and obtained his degree in medicine from the [University of Cape Town](/source/University_of_Cape_Town) in 1936. His further medical training was in [London](/source/London).[3]

## Career

Gefland first practiced medicine in South Africa and the United Kingdom before joining the Southern Rhodesia Medical Service as physician, [pathologist](/source/Pathologist) and [radiologist](/source/Radiologist) in 1939. After he began government service, he was known as the only doctor to correctly diagnose the illness of the wife of the Head of the Medical Services.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

In 1955, Gelfand founded the *[Central African Journal of Medicine](/source/Central_African_Journal_of_Medicine)*[4] with Joseph Ritchken, and remained its co-editor for many years.[5] In 1962, he joined the [University College of Rhodesia and Nyasaland](/source/University_College_of_Rhodesia_and_Nyasaland) as founding Professor of African Medicine. From 1970, until his retirement in 1977, he was Professor and Head of Department of Medicine, and thereafter Emeritus Professor and Senior Clinical Research Fellow.

His works on rheumatic diseases were used as references for further study as well as in to complications related to [tuberculosis](/source/Tuberculosis), [HIV](/source/HIV), and other diseases.[6]

Gelfand wrote a total of 330 articles and monographs in various journals on topics ranging from medicine, ethics, philosophy, history, [Shona](/source/Shona_people) custom, religion, and culture, with titles including "Migration of African Labourers in Rhodesia and Nyasaland (1890 - 1914)".[7] He wrote more than 30 books,[8] amongst them *The Sick African*[9] and *Livingstone, the Doctor*.[10]

In a 1979 article "The infrequencey of [homosexuality](/source/Homosexuality) in traditional [Shona](/source/Shona_people) society," for *The Central African Journal of Medicine,* Gelfand noted: "The traditional Shona have none of the problems associated with homosexuality [so] obviously they must have a valuable method of bringing up children, especially with regards to normal sex relations, thus avoiding this anomaly so frequent in Western society."[11] Despite strongly [homophobic](/source/Homophobia) attitudes existing in Shona society, homosexuality has historically been present.[12]

## Personal life and death

Gelfand married Esther Kollenberg, a [Bulawayan](/source/Bulawayo), whom he had met at the [University of Cape Town](/source/University_of_Cape_Town). They had three daughters.[13] He was a practitioner of [Judaism](/source/Judaism).[2]

Gelfand died on 19 July 1985, while attending a patient in the Avenues Clinic in [Harare](/source/Harare), [Zimbabwe](/source/Zimbabwe).[2] Due to his popularity as a physician, Prime Minister Robert Mugabe gave an address at his funeral.[14]

## Selected publications

- *The Sick African* (1944)

- *Schistosomiasis in South-Central Africa* (1950)

- *Medicine and Magic of the Mashona* (1956)

- *Shona Ritual* (1959)

- *Medicine in Tropical Africa* (1961)

- *Medicine and Custom in Africa* (1964)

- *An African's Religion* (1966)

- *The African Witch* (1967)

- *African Crucible* (1968)

- *Diet and Tradition in an African Culture* (1971)

- *The Genuine Shona* (1973)

- *A Non-Racial Island of Learning: A History of the University of Rhodesia* (1978)

- *The Spiritual Beliefs Of The Shona: A Study Based On Field Work Among The East Central Shona* (1982)

- *The Traditional medical practitioner in Zimbabwe: His principles of practice and pharmacopoeia (Zambeziana, Vol 17)* (1985)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-GelfandBio_1-0)** ["Professor Michael Gelfand (1912 - 1985)"](https://web.archive.org/web/20100813180157/http://www.btinternet.com/~zimdocs/gelfand1.html). Archived from [the original](http://www.btinternet.com/~zimdocs/gelfand1.html) on 13 August 2010. Retrieved 13 January 2009.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Encyclopedias_of_the_Jewish_Diaspora_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Encyclopedias_of_the_Jewish_Diaspora_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Encyclopedias_of_the_Jewish_Diaspora_2-2) Ehrlich, Mark Avrum (2009). *Encyclopedia of the Jewish Diaspora: Origins, Experiences, and Culture, Volume 1*. ABC-CLIO. pp. 518–520. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9781851098736](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781851098736).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-GelfandFoundation_3-0)** ["Michael Gelfand Medical Research Foundation"](https://web.archive.org/web/20100813180953/http://www.btinternet.com/~zimdocs/gelfand.html). Archived from [the original](http://www.btinternet.com/~zimdocs/gelfand.html) on 13 August 2010. Retrieved 13 January 2009.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Central African Journal of Medicine"](https://www.ajol.info/index.php/cajm). *African Journals Online*. 3 January 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Lives_of_the_Fellows,_Michael_Gelfan_5-0)** ["Lives of the Fellows, Volume VIII"](http://munksroll.rcplondon.ac.uk/Biography/Details/1730). *rcplondon.ac.uk*. Royal College of Physicians of London. Retrieved 29 October 2014.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Rheumatology_in_Sub-Saharan_Africa_6-0)** McGill, P. E.; Njobvu, P.D. (1 May 2001). "Rheumatology in Sub-Saharan Africa". *Clinical Rheumatology*. **20** (3): 163–164. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1007/s100670170057](https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs100670170057). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [11434465](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11434465). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [26178809](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:26178809).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-The_Roots_of_Rural_Poverty_in_Central_and_Southern_Africa_7-0)** Palmer, Robin H.; Parsons, Neil (January 1977). [*The Roots of Rural Poverty in Central and Southern Africa*](https://books.google.com/books?id=wz6lKAI9Gp0C). University of California Press. p. 167. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780520033184](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780520033184). Retrieved 29 October 2014.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Gelfand, Michael (18 May 2023). ["Books by Michael Gelfand (Author of Witch Doctor)"](https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/1193932.Michael_Gelfand). *www.goodreads.com*. Retrieved 18 May 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Gelfland, Michael (1944). *The Sick African : a Clinical Study*. Cape Town: Post-Graduate Press. [OL](/source/OL_(identifier)) [18487964M](https://openlibrary.org/books/OL18487964M).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Gelfand, Michael (1957). [*Livingstone, the Doctor; his Life and Travels. A study in Medical History*](https://www.worldcat.org/title/760756). Oxford: Blackwell.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Gelfand, M. (September 1979). "The infrequency of homosexuality in traditional Shona society". *The Central African Journal of Medicine*. **25** (9): 201–202. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0008-9176](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0008-9176). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [519747](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/519747).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** Epprecht, Marc (2008). *Unspoken facts : a history of homosexualities in Africa*. Harare, Zimbabwe: Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-7974-3483-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-7974-3483-7). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [259734602](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/259734602).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** Gelfand, Michael (18 May 2023). ["Michael Gelfand"](https://www.geni.com/people/Michael-Gelfand/6000000015686956156). *geni_family_tree*. Retrieved 18 May 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** Arnott, Melville (1985). ["Michael Gelfand"](https://history.rcplondon.ac.uk/inspiring-physicians/michael-gelfand). *British Medical Journal*. **291** (1057). Retrieved 7 May 2023.

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