Elmer Belt
Elmer Belt was an American urologist. He was an early practitioner of gender-affirming surgery, an advocate for the founding of UCLA School of Medicine, and a book collector known for assembling a library of research materials about Leonardo da Vinci—the Elmer Belt Library of Vinciana—which he donated to the University of California, Los Angeles between 1961-66.
Early life and education
Arthur Elmer Belt was born in Chicago, Illinois, on April 10, 1893. His parents worked for the United States Postal Service. The family moved to Southern California when Belt was nine. Elmer Belt received his early education in Orange County, California, and attended Los Angeles High School, traveling there on horseback. During high school he took courses in Latin, a medical school prerequisite, and met Ruth Smart, whom he married in 1918. Belt started a small book-and-supplies store at the school. This enterprise led him to become acquainted with some of the city's leading booksellers, including Ernest Dawson. Recounting his high school years in a 1979 letter, Belt wrote, "As a Freshman in High School, I learned what an Aldine was and about Gutenberg and his woes and all of the wonderful world of books.When he was a teenager, Belt's father died after undergoing abdominal surgery. When the surgeon informed the family, Belt noticed the smell of alcohol on him and believed the surgeon had botched the surgery while under the influence. This experience led Belt to vow never to drink alcohol.
Belt attended the University of California, Berkeley, obtaining a B.A. in 1916 and an M.A. in 1917. Belt then attended UCSF School of Medicine, where he was chosen to be a fellow of the Hooper Institute for Medical Research, working in urology with Dr. George Whipple and Dr. .
After completing medical school in 1920, Belt began a residency in Urology under Dr. Hinman. However, when Belt's young son, Charles, was seriously injured in a car accident, Belt sought treatment for him from renowned orthopedist Robert W. Lovett at Harvard Medical School. To be closer to his son and provide better care, Belt applied for a residency in General Surgery at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital and spent a year working under Harvey Cushing.)
While in medical school, Belt took a non-credit elective course in the History of Medicine taught by George W. Corner. It was during this class that Belt developed his lifelong interest in Leonardo da Vinci.
Career
In 1923, Elmer and Ruth Belt moved to Los Angeles, where he began a private practice. In 1936 he established the Elmer Belt Urologic Group, located in its own building at 1893 Wilshire Boulevard. The second floor of the building housed Belt's growing library. During this time, his growing reputation in the field earned him positions as a staff, attending, or consulting urologist at numerous hospitals in Los Angeles County.In addition to specializing in urology, Belt was an advocate for public health and, from 1939 through 1954, served as the President of the State Board of Public Health. First appointed to this position by California Governor Culbert Olsen, Belt was reappointed by Governor Earl Warren for each of the latter's three terms in office. In public health, Belt worked to establish the Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant. He also advocated for the care and rights of refugees from the Dust Bowl who had settled in Tulare County. During World War II, he advocated for funding to treat sexually transmitted diseases and to address prostitution, which he viewed as significant issues near military camps in the state.
Belt was the author of numerous publications about both urology and Leonardo da Vinci
Role in the establishment of the UCLA School of Medicine
From the time he returned to California from Massachusetts in 1923, Belt advocated for the establishment of a medical school at UCLA. Despite his rising status and influence, Belt's efforts were hindered by the economic and political upheavals of the Great Depression and World War II. However, in 1945, after the war, he launched a lobbying campaign with the State Legislature's Appropriations Committee. As Governor Earl Warren’s personal physician, Belt seized the opportunity during a consultation to passionately advocate for the establishment of a medical school under UCLA’s administration. Before leaving Belt's office, Warren pulled out a notebook and outlined a ten-step plan to move the project forward and secure approval from the state legislature. For the final step, he wrote, "Be there to stand behind me when I sign this legislation." On February 19, 1946, Belt stood alongside other dignitaries as Governor Warren signed a bill allocating $7 million to establish a medical school at UCLA.After the approval of a medical school for UCLA, the next challenge was determining its location—on-campus or off-campus. The Regents' committee on location concluded that no suitable on-campus site was available. Concerned that the school might be placed far away, possibly at the county hospital downtown, Belt took it upon himself to scout Westwood, Los Angeles for viable land. He identified a nearly vacant 33-acre tract stretching from Wilshire Boulevard to Strathmore Drive and from the western edge of Westwood Village to Veteran Avenue.
Dr. Belt consulted Dr. Edward Janss, the developer who had donated the land for UCLA’s campus, and discovered the property was owned by the Veterans Hospital Association. Securing the land would require an act of Congress, which meant drafting a bill to transfer ownership to the University of California. However, the university’s central administration was reluctant to make the request. After persistent efforts, UCLA Chancellor Clarence Dykstra finally agreed to facilitate the transfer with the Veterans Hospital Administration.
The bill reached the 81st Congress as the final item on the docket. At this critical juncture, Dr. Belt sought the help of Edwin W. Pauley. Belt didn’t know Pauley personally, he reached out through Pauley’s wife, who arranged a meeting at their home. After hearing Dr. Belt’s appeal, Pauley called President Truman directly and persuaded him to sign the legislation. This act secured the land transfer from the Veterans Administration to the University of California, paving the way for the medical school’s construction.
Belt helped recruit the School of Medicine's first dean, Stafford L. Warren, who was appointed in 1947. In the fall of 1951, the medical school enrolled its first class, which consisted of 30 students—28 men and two women. At this time, there were 15 faculty members, including Belt, who served as Clinical Professor of Surgery. In 1955 the university completed work on the UCLA Medical Center, giving the Medical School a permanent home. Not long afterwards, University of California President Robert Gordon Sproul characterized Belt as "The Life Belt of the UCLA Medical School." Belt remained a staunch supporter of the School for the rest of his life.
Gender-affirming surgery
Belt may have been the first surgeon in the United States to perform gender-affirming surgery, which he was likely doing by 1950. However, ascertaining exactly when he did them is not possible because a fire in Belt's medical office in 1958 destroyed many, if not all, records prior to that year. The surgeries were performed at Good Samaritan Hospital, where Belt's Urologic Group's surgical practice was conducted; he did not perform them at UCLA.Belt was the uncle of Willard Elmer Goodwin, M.D. who, in 1951, was the founding chair of the Division of Urology in the Department of Surgery at the UCLA School of Medicine. Belt trained his nephew in the techniques of gender-affirming surgery. In 1954 a committee of UCLA doctors, including Goodwin and members of the Psychiatry Department, decided that these surgeries should no longer be performed under the aegis of the university. However, Goodwin continued to perform them quietly. At the end of 1954, Belt temporarily ceased his transgender surgeries, but resumed them in the late 1950s.
Belt received referrals from Harry Benjamin; Dr. LeMon Clark, professor of Gynecology at the University of Arkansas and editor of Sexology Magazine; and others. Many prospective corresponded directly with Belt.
Belt performed male-to-female operations. One of his best known patients was Patricia Morgan.
In early 1962, facing pressure from his wife, his son Bruce, and his office manager, Belt decided to stop performing gender-affirming surgery. Along with these pressures, he feared the risk of a lawsuit from a dissatisfied patient that could jeopardize his practice. Additionally, it was becoming increasingly difficult to find hospitals willing to accommodate gender-affirming surgeries. Knowing that other doctors, such as Goodwin and Georges Burou, could take on these patients, Belt ultimately chose to refer them elsewhere.
Book and manuscript collecting
A lifelong bibliophile, Belt began collecting books as a child. By his mid-teens, he had assembled a prized collection of comic books and dime novels. Belt's mother discarded the collection when he went to college—a loss he lamented for the rest of his life.Belt also collected works by his patient Upton Sinclair and, in 1934, supported Sinclair's campaign for governor of California. Belt donated his Upton Sinclair collection to Occidental College Library.
In addition, Belt formed collections around Silas Weir Mitchell and Florence Nightingale. He donated both collections to the Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library at UCLA.
In 2014 the remainder of Belt's collection was sold at auction including an illuminated manuscript by Dante Gabriel Rossetti of The Blessed Damozel by Alberto Sangorski; California mission etchings by Henry Ford; a handwritten manuscript by Bertrand Russell and a signed Sierra Nevada: The John Muir Trail by Ansel Adams.