Comments on: Name some medical school dropouts who went on to accomplish great things

Question: Name some medical school dropouts who went on to accomplish great things

Pantalaimon — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:11:36 -0800

I am trying to compile a list of medical school dropouts who later went on to do great things in other fields. The term "med school" here is used loosely to allow some flexibility. So anyone who abandoned his medical training and accomplished something notable in some other field would work. So far I've found five persons. I've listed them below to show what I am looking for. I hope to find five more to fill out a Top Ten list.

Gertrude Stein -- attended and dropped out of Johns Hopkins.
Lu Xun -- Chinese writer who abandoned his medical studies to pursue his literary career.
Che Guevara
Prof Robert Solomon -- quit med school to become a professor of philosophy. He wrote many books on existentialism.
Roald Amundsen -- quit medical studies to become an arctic explorer. The first man to captain a ship through the Northwest Passage.

I'm especially interested in contemporary figures like Prof Solomon. Bonus points if he/she did something unusual or crazy.

By: dersins

dersins — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:15:23 -0800

GOOGLE RON PAUL

By: kickingtheground

kickingtheground — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:15:37 -0800

James Joyce comes to mind. Also, wasn't Darwin a med-school drop-out?

By: that possible maker of pork sausages

that possible maker of pork sausages — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:26:31 -0800

John Keats

By: posadnitsa

posadnitsa — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:27:51 -0800

Successful (and awesome) romance novelist Julia Quinn.

By: kuujjuarapik

kuujjuarapik — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:28:06 -0800

William S Burroughs

By: 1

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:29:47 -0800

the great Walker Percy

By: OmieWise

OmieWise — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:33:29 -0800

Just as clarification: what if someone was an MD and then went on to do other things...like Howard Dean.

By: Dec One

Dec One — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 16:25:37 -0800

According to Wikipedia, Dr. Ron Paul completed medical school.

By: NotMyselfRightNow

NotMyselfRightNow — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 16:26:26 -0800

Michael Crichton
David Wolf, if I'm not mistaken (read Dragonfly)

By: jayder

jayder — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 16:30:03 -0800

Hector Berlioz.

By: suedehead

suedehead — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:06:54 -0800

Andre Breton - created Surrealism
Gertrude Stein

By: suedehead

suedehead — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:10:40 -0800

Whoops, missed your example. Both Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and William Carlos Williams were doctors who are more well-known for their literary work, but they didn't drop out.. does this count?

Oh, and also: Charles Darwin -- "he went to the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, to study medicine, but he was revolted by the brutality of surgery and neglected his medical studies..."

By: ch1x0r

ch1x0r — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:15:32 -0800

Roald Amundsen

By: ch1x0r

ch1x0r — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:15:59 -0800

That is what I get for skimming.

By: IndigoJones

IndigoJones — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:38:32 -0800

Somerset Maugham
Francois Rabelais, though he came back to teach medicine in later life
Chekhov never really gave up doctoring, so scratch him
Ayman al-Zawahiri

That's about it, off hand. I'm sure there are others.

By: I Said, I've Got A Big Stick

I Said, I've Got A Big Stick — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:45:32 -0800

So anyone who abandoned his medical training and accomplished something notable in some other field would work.

Would abandoning their training immediately following graduation count? Graham Chapman, of Monty Python fame, finished medical school, but never actually practiced medicine. He did play a doctor in a few of his sketches, but I don't think that counts.

By: natalie b

natalie b — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 19:00:30 -0800

Does failing out count? If so, then the French Impressionist Frédéric Bazille. According to the article, he failed his medical exam, became a full-time painter, and was killed in the Franco-Prussian War at age 29. Tragic.

By: thebrokenmuse

thebrokenmuse — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 20:09:52 -0800

David Duchovny!

By: Pantalaimon

Pantalaimon — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:59:12 -0800

Thanks for the great answers, guys.

By: kosher_jenny

kosher_jenny — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 03:45:15 -0800

Osamu Tezuka completed his education, but never became a practicing doctor.

By: rongorongo

rongorongo — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:45:02 -0800

Orkadian John Rae did get his medical qualifications but he is best known for his Arctic exploration. Despite contemporary accounts to the contrary it appears that he was the guy who discovered the North West Passage.

By: pasici

pasici — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 07:16:18 -0800

I am fairly certain that Walker Percy graduated from Columbia Medical School. I know I'm skating on thin ice by citing wikipedia for support, but I don't have time now to do further research.

By: you're only jung once

you're only jung once — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 03:42:17 -0800

Harry Hill