Kessler, Henry Howard (1896–1978)

American physician

Henry Howard Kessler, a pioneer in the development of comprehensive rehabilitative services for people with physical disabilities, was born in Newark, New Jersey, on April 10, 1896. A 1919 graduate of Cornell University Medical School, Kessler earned a doctorate in social legislation from Columbia University in 1934. Inspired by Dr. Fred H. Albee, an orthopedic surgeon who practiced during World War I, Kessler became a well-recognized orthopedic surgeon, medical administrator, and international advocate for people with disabilities. He is recognized as the developer of the surgical technique of cineplasty for control of artificial arms, as for the pneumatic-operated prosthetic arm.

During his 12-year career in the U.S. Navy, Kessler served as a captain from 1941 to 1945. He was director of the New Jersey Rehabilitation Commission from 1921 to 1941. He founded the nonprofit, nonsectarian Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in West Orange, New Jersey, in 1949 and served as its director until his death on January 18, 1978, at age 81. He considered the institute, which has long served as a model for centers for physical rehabilitation, his greatest achievement.

Kessler provided consultative services to Newark Beth Israel and Newark City Hospitals and the Federal Office of Vocational Rehabilitation of the Veterans Administration. He also directed the Rehabilitation Unit at Christ Hospital in Jersey City, New Jersey, and was clinical professor at New York Medical College.

He became internationally known for his work as a delegate to the International Congresses of Industrial Accidents and Diseases and as a consultant to the United Nations. Among his many citations and honorary degrees, most noteworthy are the Albert Lasker Award (1954) and the first President's (Truman) Award of the Committee on Employment of the Physically Handicapped (1952). His many publications include Accidental Injuries (1931), Cineplasty (1947), Rehabilitation of the Physically Handicapped (1947), The Principles and Practices of Physical Rehabilitation (1950), Low Back Pain in Industry (1955), Peter Stuyvesant and His New York (1959), and The Knife Is Not Enough (1968).