Between Medicine and Criminology: Richard Cabot and the Making of the Cambridge-Somerville Youth Study

In 1935, Richard Cabot (1868-1939), a renowned physician and professor of clinical medicine and social ethics at Harvard University, founded the Cambridge-Somerville Youth Study. Appalled by high recidivism rates of reformatories of the day, Cabot wanted to do something to help young, underprivileged boys from engaging in delinquency and embarking on a life of crime. Described as character development through positive role models, with similarities to today's mentoring programs, the prevent...