Milton Helpern

Milton Helpern was the most famous Chief Medical Examiner for the City of New York —"a Sherlock Holmes with a microscope."

Dr. Milton Helpern (April 17, 1902—April 22, 1977) was born in East Harlem and received his medical degree from Cornell in 1926. He joined the New York City Medical Examiner office in 1931 and became its chief in 1954. During his 20-year tenure he performed over 20,000 autopsies, and was also a key witness in some infamous murder trials.  Dr. Helpern was widely admired as a forensic pathologist and medical detective. He co-wrote the definitve work on forensic medicine, Legal Medicine, Pathology and Toxicology (1954).

Milton Helpern appears in the following:

The 1957 pandemic: Not the Flu We Knew

Friday, December 13, 2013

WNYC
How would the new virus behave when schools opened in the autumn of 1957?
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Before CSI, There Was Dr. Milton Helpern

Wednesday, September 30, 1959

If the cause of death wasn't natural, then it goes to his office to find out why.

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Epidemic Influenza

Tuesday, November 19, 1957

A special session on the recent influenza epidemic convened on November 19, 1957, by the New York Academy of Medicine, moderated by Columbia University's Harry M. Rose and including the following:

Morris Greenberg, Director of Bureau Preventable diseases NYC DOH
Milton Helpern, New York City's Chief ...

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The Doctor in Court

Thursday, April 07, 1955

WNYC
How to give better medical testimony in civil and criminal actions.

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