Cannon, Walter Bradford

Walter Bradford Cannon (1871–1945) was the preeminent American physiologist of the early twentieth century. He made fundamental contributions to our understanding of mechanical and reflex factors in digestion, coined the term fight-or-flight response, developed an influential theory of emotion, and developed the concepts of homeostasis and denervation supersensitivity. Throughout his career, Cannon was readily moved to sympathy and indignation by suffering and injustice and was not afraid to stand on principal, even when this generated vocal opposition or controversy. Cannon's convictions led him to oppose the antivivisection movement, to assist Jewish doctors from Nazi-controlled Europe, to bring medical relief to the Spanish Republic, and to support the formation of scientific ties with the Soviet Union.