Emily Langer

Author's posts

Alice Kahn Ladas, pioneer in women’s sexuality, dies at 102

Her best-selling 1982 book “The G Spot,” written with two co-authors, helped loosen constraints on women’s sexual experience.

Charles Silverstein, who helped declassify homosexuality as illness, dies at 87

The psychologist, author and activist challenged the scientific and clinical basis of classifying homosexuality as a mental disorder.

Leonard Kriegel, unsparing chronicler of polio, dies at 89

He lost the use of his legs at age 11 and became a powerful memoirist of disease and disability.

Sophie Freud, professor who challenged her grandfather’s doctrine, dies at 97

The last surviving grandchild of Sigmund Freud described her grandfather as one of the “false prophets of the 20th century.”

Julie Beckett, champion of children with disabilities, dies at 72

A waiver that she obtained for her daughter helped allow more than half a million American children to grow up at home rather than in hospitals and institutions.

Fuad El-Hibri, founder of vaccine maker Emergent BioSolutions, dies at 64

A major producer of vaccines against anthrax, the biotech company later attracted scrutiny when it was forced to discard 75 million doses of coronavirus vaccine because of possible contamination.

Barrie Cassileth, pioneer of integrative cancer care, dies at 83

By encouraging therapies such as massage and acupuncture, she helped improve the well-being of cancer patients as they confront their disease,

Kent Waldrep, paralyzed athlete who championed disability rights and research, dies at 67

Paralyzed in a college football injury, he devoted much of the rest of his life to raising money for research on spinal cord injuries.

Paul Farmer, a giant of public health, dies at 62

Dr. Farmer, the subject of Tracy Kidder’s 2013 book “Mountains Beyond Mountains,” devoted his professional life to improving health care in the most destitute corners of the world, a campaign that brought him international renown and was credited with …