influenced academically by a paternal aunt, a Greek scholar who had graduated from Oberlin College. One of his cousins was a prominent attorney in Bath, England. Southard attended Boston Latin School, where his father, aunt and headmaster Arthur Irving Fiske sparked a lifelong interest in language and the meaning of words. Despite a tall, solid build and walking about a day to school, he was awkward at manual labor and athletics. Southard graduated from Boston Latin School in 1893 with awards for reading and essay-writing. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard College in 1897. As an undergraduate, Southard's path was shaped by several notable faculty members. He learned about comparative anatomy and the nervous system from biologist George Howard Parker, studied psychology under William James, took a class in logic taught by Josiah Royce and graduated with a degree in philosophy. Southard then entered Harvard Medical School; despite his previous academic success and aptitude for science he struggled in several courses focused on medicine, receiving C's and a D. At Harvard Southard was a noted chess player, and was described as Harvard's best player in an 1899 newspaper article on an Ivy League chess tournament: "It is probable that as long as he is engaged in the tournament, Harvard will win the cup." Through the chess team he became lifelong friends with Walter Arensberg, who became a noted art collector. Southard received his medical degree in 1901. In 1902, Southard went to Germany and studied medicine at the Senckenberg Institute and Heidelberg University for six months. Career Appointments After returning from Germany, Southard interned in pathology at Boston City Hospital and became an instructor at Harvard Medical School in 1904. From 1906 to 1909, he was an assistant pathologist at Danvers State Hospital. Socially, he participated in the Wicht Club with other young Harvard scholars beginning their careers. In 1909 Southard was named assistant professor of psychology at Harvard University and Bullard Professor of Neuropathology at Harvard Medical School, titles he held until his death. That year, he also became a pathologist for the Massachusetts Commission on Mental Diseases. Southard and his laboratory assistant, Emma Mooers, contracted a streptococcal infection during an autopsy in 1911. Mooers died and Southard developed lymphangitis in his arm, undergoing aggressive surgery and recovering over several months. Although he wrote an outline of his autobiography and traveled extensively in Europe during his