George A. Dixon

One sure recourse of the publishing trade appears to consist in books on the life-story of well known captains of industry, not too long deceased. The subject is treated by the various authors from every imaginable point of view but one, and that is the viewpoint of his doctor. We never get that in book form: which is perhaps regrettable, because the family physician is extremely apt to have been acquainted with the real man who has captured the public’s interest. Dr. George Arthur Dixon, in his notable career as medical practitioner, numbered among his patients Harriman, Hill, the younger [William K.] Vanderbilt and the elder Morgan—the very men of whom the best-selling biographers have been drawing their more or less imaginative pictures. He accompanied Harriman on his last western railway trip, attended J. P. Morgan in his last illness at Rome, and was one of the physicians at the bedside of the dying McKinley. The personal impressions derived from that intimate affiliation would surely have interested and might have enlightened the eager reading public; but it is perhaps a matter for gratification that at least one profession is left which does not chase after the limelight of publicity.

Alexander Dana Noyes
1934 Century Association Yearbook