Robert Abbe

Robert Abbe (1851 - 1928), was an American surgeon and pioneer radiologist in New York City.

Abbe was most known as a plastic surgeon, and between 1877 and 1884 he served as a surgeon and professor of surgery at the New York Hospital, St. Luke's Hospital , and the New York Babies Hospital . During this time, he would spend summers travelling, and he amassed a large collection of Native American artifacts and archeological materials.

He befriended the Curies, and in particular Madame Curie. He collected many photographs of her, documented the production of radium, and explored, with her, the medical uses of radiation and x-rays. In 1904, he introduced the practice of using radiation to treat cancer and founded the science of radiation oncology . In 1927, he founded the Abbe Museum of Native American artifacts.

He died in 1928 of anemia, possibly due to his work handling radium.