Memoriam - Dr. James J. Baldwin: A Scientific Beacon in Orthodontics
Citation: The Angle Orthodontist 89, 5; 10.2319/0003-3219-89.5.827
Newton's Laws of Motion (1687)1 were a 267-year-old technology when James J. Baldwin (JJB) began his orthodontics training at Indiana University School of Dentistry (IUSD) in 1954. Despite some previous reports of elementary mechanics around the turn of the century,2 the first formal introduction of Newton's Laws of Motion1 to orthodontics was in 19173 by an engineer, GD (Gilbert Dudley) Fish.4,5 Unfortunately, these seminal concepts remained foreign to clinical orthodontics until Dr. Baldwin brought a fresh rural perspective.
JJB was born September 26, 1925, in Jacksonville, a small town in southwestern Illinois. He was the son of a family physician who made house calls with a horse and buggy. Jim was a brilliant student who was appointed in 1943 to the West Point Military Academy where he studied engineering. When WWII ended, Jim exercised his option to resign from the Army and pursue a civilian education. He attended the University of Illinois, Stanford University, and then settled on the more rural setting of DePauw University in Indiana where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree and was elected Phi Beta Kappa. JJB was particularly adept in the physical sciences, so he subsequently earned a Master of Science degree in physics at Yale University (1950). With that fabulous education during the post-WWII economic boom, the industrial world was at his doorstep. However, his wife Martha (Marty), whom he met at DePauw University, wanted to return to Indiana, so JJB decided orthodontics would be a worthy application for advanced physics. To his chagrin, dental school was a necessary prerequisite. Despite limited interest in general dentistry, JJB performed well at IUSD, graduating with a DDS (1954) and an acceptance for orthodontics specialty training. His ultimate objective in orthodontics was the application of advanced physics at the clinical level.
During orthodontic training (1954–56), JJB practiced Newtonian physics to define the reactions to applied forces, ie, the application of statics and equilibrium at the clinical level. Charles J. (Charlie) Burstone (CJB) was a year ahead of Jim, and immediately joined the orthodontics faculty after graduation in 1955. According to a more senior faculty member, Dr. John Lindquist, Charlie was the only orthodontist in the department who understood that Jim's applications of physics were principles of mechanical engineering in the oral cavity. Charlie made arrangements for them to travel with Jim to Purdue University (West Lafayette, IN) to work out the theoretical details with the Chairman of Mechanical Engineering.
After exposure to JJB's clinical physics, CJB began to explore the academic basis for “biomechanics” in orthodontics in 1955. Charlie harbored some resentment that Jim resisted helping him develop clinical mechanics as a discipline, but JJB was only interested in applying and teaching the principles of physics. CJB prevailed relative to a joint Angle Society presentation, probably because that was a requirement for membership in the society. Jim and Charlie were a good team for addressing the challenging problems associated with applying determinate mechanics (Newton's Laws) to clinical orthodontics. Since Newtonian mechanics is only applicable for two abutments, the young clinical investigators focused on canine retraction, space closure with multiple tooth segments, and intrusion mechanics. In 1963, the clinical concepts of what was later deemed “biomechanics” were introduced to what is enthroned as “The Jim & Charlie Show” at the Midwest Component of the Angle Society in New Orleans.6 That was Jim's last major lecture on the subject. After JJB was subsequently appointed to the part-time orthodontics faculty of the University of Illinois (UIC), Dr. Carla Evans encouraged him to publish his historic paper 1963 Angle Society presentation in 2003.7
Citation: The Angle Orthodontist 89, 5; 10.2319/0003-3219-89.5.827
Jim and Charlie parted ways after the historic 1963 lecture because there was a “conflict of interest.” Jim was a part-time instructor who was only interested in practicing and teaching physics at the clinical level. Charlie was an ambitious full-time academician who was destined to develop the scientific basis of biomechanics in orthodontics. Subsequently, CJB published the principles for segmented arch mechanics in 1966,8 but JJB apparently played no role in that effort because he was neither a coauthor nor acknowledged. Some orthodontists have felt that CJB failed to give JJB adequate credit, but there was no animosity on Jim's part because he preferred to avoid the limelight. Dr. Baldwin loved the intellectual challenge of applying Newton's laws to the treatment of patients, but he had no interest in the research, lectures, and publications necessary to establish biomechanics as an academic discipline. By default, that was CJB's role.
It is an honor to write this tribute for JJB, whom I regard as a leading intellect of our specialty. CJB was my mentor, and JJB was my longtime friend and roommate at national meetings, particularly the Angle Society for 25 years. JJB and CJB never had a close personal relationship, but their interaction was a cosmic event for our specialty. Before being forced to retire by advanced Alzheimer's disease, Jim Baldwin was recognized for the longest continuous history of clinical teaching at IUSD (more than 50 years). That was all he wanted. His greatest loves were his students and the Angle Society.
James J. Baldwin passed away on January 31, 2019 at the age of 93. He was a member of Angle Midwest and served as President of the Edward H Angle Society of Orthodontists from 1987 to 1989.
James J. Baldwin (1925–2019) in 2014.
Gene Roberts and Jim Baldwin at the Angle Society Biennial Meeting in Charleston, SC.