Frank Henry Pike (1876-1953) was a neurophysiologist who taught for thirty years in the Department of Physiology of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University. He made significant contributions to the studies of the physiology of the nervous system and physiological psychology.

Pike was born in Aurora, Illinois on January 20, 1876. He was the eighth child of William Dana Pike and Maria Wilmoth Pike. He spent much of his youth on the family farm near Plainfield, Illinois. At age 15, he and a brother drove a wagon west to Montrose, Colorado, where they homesteaded for two years. Afterwards, Pike began his collegiate studies, studying at Valparaiso and Indiana Universities. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from the latter institution in 1903.

Pike then pursued a Ph.D. at the University of Chicago, specializing in the physiology of respiration. There, he studied under A. G. Mathews. Earning a doctorate in 1907, for the next four years he taught physiology at Chicago.

In 1911, Pike was hired as assistant professor in the Department of Physiology of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University. This began a thirty-year official association with Columbia. He retired as a full professor in 1941, afterwards serving as a special lecturer until his death.

In addition to studying and teaching physiology, Pike maintained an interest in physics and was equally at home in all of the sciences. He sought to relate other fields of science to physiology through his teaching. He espoused the importance of comparative physiology. His chief interest was discovering how the nervous system worked.

Pike married Susan Hattie Reece (1871-1943) on June 24, 1907. Together, they had one child, Eugene Wilmoth Pike (1909-1980).

Pike died on November 13, 1953.

Physical description

7 linear feet.

Provenance

Presented by Mrs. Rook Metzger McCulloch and accessioned, 04/29/1970 (1970 657ms).

• Drawings.

• Adams, Charles C. (Charles Christopher), 1873-1955
• Donaldson, Henry Herbert, 1857-1938
• Hektoen, Ludvig, 1863-1951
• Pike, F. H. (Frank Henry), 1876-1953
• Riddle, Oscar, 1877-1968
• Shapley, Harlow, 1885-1972

• Brain.
• Central nervous system.
• Medical sciences.
• Physiology -- Research.
• Zoology.