Oliver Sacks

Oliver Sacks was a British neurologist, naturalist, historian of science, and prolific writer whose work bridged clinical medicine and literary art. Born on 9 July 1933 in Cricklewood, London, he earned his medical degree from The Queen’s College, Oxford in 1958 before moving to North America, where he would spend the bulk of his professional life. He began his clinical career with an internship at Mt. Zion Hospital in San Francisco and a residency in neurology and neuropathology at UCLA, later joining Beth Abraham Hospital in the Bronx where his treatment of post‑encephalitic patients inspired the landmark 1973 book Awakenings and its Oscar‑nominated 1990 film adaptation starring Robin Williams and Robert De Niro. Sacks’s literary output includes best‑selling collections such as The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, An Anthropologist on Mars, and Musicophilia, each blending meticulous case histories with lyrical narrative that earned him the reputation of a “poet laureate of contemporary medicine.” Over a career that spanned more than five decades, he held professorships at Yeshiva University’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, and Columbia University, where he was appointed the university’s first Columbia Artist in recognition of his interdisciplinary contributions. His writing appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, and numerous scientific journals, and he was honored with the Lewis Thomas Prize, a CBE, and fellowship in multiple academies. Sacks’s personal life was marked by his long‑term partnership with writer Bill Hayes, his dedication to daily open‑water swimming, and his eventual battle with ocular melanoma that led to blindness in his right eye and his death on 30 August 2015 at age 82. Despite his modest demeanor, his legacy endures through a vast archive of letters, essays, and recordings that continue to inspire neurologists, artists, and readers worldwide.