Bayard Holmes

Bayard Taylor Holmes (1852–1924) was an American physician, educator, and politician based in Chicago, Illinois.

Holmes became a medical profession in Chicago during the 1880s. He served as a surgeon at the Cook County Hospital and a senior professor of surgery at the Chicago's College of Physicians and Surgeons (which later became the University of Illinois College of Medicine). Holmes was an early proponent and researcher in the field of the bacteriology. He was influential in shaping the direction of the College of Physicians and Surgeons. Throughout his career, more traditional figures in the medical field considered Holmes to be a radical.

Holmes was also involved in politics, having socialist views and running as the People's Party nominee for mayor of Chicago in 1895.

Holmes changed his career direction after his son became afflicted with "dementia praecox", a condition today known as schizophrenia. Holmes at first retired in 1908 to care for his son full time, but soon dedicated himself to research in search of a cure. He ultimately formulated an incorrect theory that the condition was the result of toxins (likely histamine) released by overgrown of bacteria within intestinal blockages. Based on this misbelief, he developed a therapy for schizophrenia that involved an abdominal surgical incision into the intestines, followed by daily colonic irrigations. He first trialed this treatment on his own son in 1916. His son died only four days into the treatment. Undeterred, Holmes continued to try this treatment. He claimed positive results, and purged records of his son's treatment. He established a reputation as a top authority on "Dementia praecox". Several recent retrospectives have taken a highly negative view towards his work related to that condition.