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Lionel Blitzsten died on September 27, 1952. His passing marks the close of an epoch in the history of psychoanalysis in Chicago, where he was the first practicing analyst and where for many years he was its most stimulating and successful teacher of clinical psychoanalysis.
His was a remarkable capacity, based on incredible alertness to small clues of all kinds, to arrive rapidly and accurately at deep insights into people of all kinds. Combined with a photographic memory and a brilliant intellect, this clinical acuity was at times awe-inspiring, and even overwhelming, but always it was bound to the facts of the case, leaving his students not simply impressed but also deeply informed. It was this lasting effect of his teaching, which continues to reflect itself in the quality of the work of even those more modestly endowed, which makes him memorable to the many members of the American Psychoanalytic Association who, at one time or another, sat in seminars or had supervisory work with him.
It is the enigma and in part the tragedy of this rich personality, from whom so many have received so much, that he has left so little that tangibly marks the course of his career. He wrote only two articles. A book on which he had been working for some years remains unfinished. He participated little in the activities of the Association, though he was for several years a member of the Council. He was the first President of the Chicago Psychoanalytic Society and until the Chicago Institute separated from the Chicago Society he was a member of its Training Committee and was known for the strong position he took on rigorous standards for