BMJ | 2021
Joseph Sonnabend: the first AIDS doctor
Abstract
Joseph Sonnabend was the world’s first AIDS doctor. Henevermade that claim, andperhaps itwasn’t quite literally true, but fate placed him in New York City immediately before the start of the epidemic, where his training as a researcher gave him tools that others lacked, and his compassion created a loyal patient following. He was a bit of a curmudgeon, familiar with but not dependent on the hidebound strictures of themedical establishment, comfortable in the role of an outsider.