William Philip Spratling (October 13, 1863 – December 22, 1915) was an American neurologist known for his advances in the treatment and study of epilepsy; he is often described as the first American epileptologist – a word he is credited with having coined in his 1904 work Epilepsy and Its Treatment.What is an Epileptologist?, at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine Department of Neurology, 2011, via archive.org, archived July 23, 2011
Biography William P. Spratling was born in La Fayette, Alabama on October 13, 1863."New Head for Bellevue - Dr William P. Spratling Chosen by Board of Trustees" from The New York Times, May 14, 1904, retrieved May 7, 2011
Dr. Spratling was the superintendent of the Craig Colony for Epileptics in Sonyea, New York"New York State's Epileptic Colony – Interesting Village of Sonyea, Where Afflicted Are Cared For" from The New York Times, November 9, 1902, retrieved May 7, 2011 from 1893 to 1908. He was co-founder and the first president of the National Association for the Study of Epilepsy. He was also the editor of the Proceedings of the Association between 1904Spratling WP, ed. Transactions of the National Association for the Study of Epilepsy and the Care and Treatment of Epileptics at the Second and Third Annual Meetings held in New York City in November, 1902, and in Philadelphia, in November, 1903. Vol 2. Rochester, New York, Democrat & Chronicle Printing without year (1904) and 1912Spratling WP, ed. Transactions of the National Association for the Study of Epilepsy and the Care and Treatment of Epileptics. Tenth Annual Meeting St. Louis, MO, June 16, 1911. Vol 8. Mt. Morris, New York, Union Press 1912
In his book Epilepsy and its Treatment, published in 1904,Spratling WP. Epilepsy and its Treatment. Philadelphia – New York – London, W. B. Saunders 1904 he supported the theory of a cortical genesis of epileptic seizures earlier popularized by John Hughlings Jackson and William Richard Gowers, based on the animal studies of Gustav Fritsch, Eduard Hitzig, and David Ferrier.
In 1904, Spratling was appointed superintendent of Bellevue Hospital Center;Tangle at Bellevue Now - New Superintendent Must Take Examination, the Commission Rules. from the New York Times, June 16, 1904, retrieved May 7, 2011 however, due to civil service requirements, he did not actually hold the office.DR. WM. P SPRATLING DIES. Specialist on Nervous Diseases Succumbs in Florida. The New York Times, page 9, December 24, 1915.
From 1911 to 1912 Spratling was a member of the Editorial Board of the journal Epilepsia of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE).
Later in life, Spratling suffered a nervous breakdown and retired to Florida. On December 22, 1915, he died of a gunshot wound while hunting in Welaka, Florida.
Family Spratling's son was silversmith William Spratling.William Spratling Biography at SpratlingSilver.com, by Phyllis Goddard, 2003; retrieved May 7, 2011
Works The Treatment of Epilepsy and Its Incipience, 1894 An Ideal Colony for Epileptics, and the Necessity for the Broader Treatment of Epilepsy, 1901 Epilepsy and Its Treatment, 1904 Epilepsy and Its Relation to Crime
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