Fred H. Albee

Fred Houdlette Albee (April 13, 1876 – February 15, 1945) was a surgeon who invented bone grafting and other advances in orthopedic surgery as a surgical treatment. He was also one of the fathers of rehabilitative medicine, a pioneer in physical, psychological and occupational rehabilitation. As a result of his discoveries, untold numbers of injured, crippled and disfigured persons were able to overcome trauma that had previously been untreatable. Albee was born on a farm in the township of Alna, Maine, on a Friday the 13th, and learned how to do tree grafting from his uncle, Charles Houdlette. He later applied the principles of grafting, and guarding a tree from outside disruptions, to his bone grafting operations. Though he was a hard...