Winston Churchill's 1932 doctor's note shows New York doctors have always been colorful

Sir Winston Churchill, recipient of awesome doctor&#039;s note

(Image credit: Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

published 15 September 2016

Donald Trump — who is dramatically unveiling some (presumably positive) health news on the TV today — has one of the most famous doctor's notes in modern history. Dr. Harold Bornstein, a gastroenterologist who is apparently Trump's primary care physician, touted Trump's "astonishingly excellent" medical test results last December and proclaimed him the "healthiest individual ever" to near the Oval Office, and his new health update can only be a step down, in terms of color.

Winston Churchill's "postaccident convalescence" was necessary because, at the start of a U.S. speaking tour in 1932 (in his political "wilderness" years, when he was busy opposing India's Mahatma Gandhi and universal suffrage), he stepped out in the street and was run down by a car. He needed a prescription for "alcoholic spirits" because this was during Prohibition, and it's not clear if the 250 cc "minimum requirement" of alcohol — that's 8.5 ounces — was daily or total. You can read more about Churchill's "New York misadventure" from Churchill's own account in The Daily Mail, or in summarized form Open Culture.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.

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