Dr. Fredric Wertham was born on March 20, 1895 in Nuremberg, Germany. He studied at King’s College in London, and at several universities in Germany. He received his MD in 1921.
After working in several mental hygiene clinics all over the world, but he really made a name for himself as a consulting psychiatrist for the New York City court. It was the first clinic where all convicted felons received psychiatric examination.
Wertham also wrote a few books, all related to his work. His first book, The Brain as an Organ, was published in 1926. 15 years later Dark Legends, his second book, was published. In between the books he wrote several articles for magazines.
What really made Dr. Wertham famous was his crusade against comic books, and the publication of his 1954 book Seduction Of The Innocent. The book caused the U.S. senate to investigate the effect comics have on children, and the relationship between comics and juvenile delinquents. Because of this, publishers decided to create the Comics Code Authority (CCA) on October 26, 1954. The CCA is a guideline for publishing comics.
1958 was the year when Wertham’s book The Circle of Guilt was published, in which he claims that people are beginning to feel less responsible for their actions, which causes more violent crimes. Apparently the media and comic books are contributing to this. A Sign For Cain was published in 1966. This was another book about human violence, and again comics were at least partially responsible.
In 1973 his last book was published: The World Of Fanzines. The book is about how people with the same interests communicate with each other through fanzines.
Dr. Fredric Wertham died on December 1, 1981.