Professor Phineas Aloysius Kykloedes (AKA Dr. Cylcoid)
A brief history of a scientist gone mad
Phineas Aloysius Kykloeides [Cycloid], was born in 1860 in Lamia, Greece. He was the only son of Nicolaos Alexander Kykloeides 1820-1902 of Greek descent and mother Aardina Sophia Verkuilen (1825-1910) of Greek and Dutch origin. A sister, Eleni, died at childbirth in 1856 four years before the birth of Phineas.
Phineas’ father, Nicolaos Alexander Kykloeides 1820-1902 was a barge captain and his mother, Aardina Sophia Verkuilen, was the only child of a local Greek Family who owned large groves of Achaia olive trees along the southern shore of the Gulf of Corinth.
His grandfather; whom he is named after, Phineas Byron Kykloeides (1775-1822) died fighting for Greece Independence during the Ottoman empire when Nicolaos was 2 years old. Phineas’ grandmother, Maria, died of typhoid 4 years later and his father, Nicolaos was raised by his grandfather and grandmother, Byron Kycloeides and Maria Stathios on the island of Samos before migrating back to Lamia. There his father married Aardina in 1859 and Phineas was born a year later
When young Phineas was 5, he had already mastered mathematics and physics with a strong affinity toward the biological sciences. To offer his son a better life, Nicolaos sent Phineas to live with his Dutch uncle in England in 1867, and it was there that Phineas became fascinated with medicine. Before 1870, education was primarily a private affair. Wealthy parents sent their children to fee-paying schools, and in this case, Phineas' uncle, Bonn Verkuilen (his mother’s brother), paid for tutors to educate Phineas in art, Latin, and biology and was apprenticed to a firm of chemists in England at the age of 13, acting as a dispenser to Dr. Spyros Varmaxithis. With a letter of recommendations from Dr. Varmaxithis, at the very young age of 14, Phineas attended the University of Leipzig and received his MD in 1882. While attending the same university, he befriended Emil Kraepelin, who studied under the tutelage of Dr. Paul Flechsig in the area of mental disorders. This is the time that Phineas became interested in neuroscience and the effect of electronic, magnetic resonance with the accompanying chemicals to treat lunacy. In 1888 he received a Ph.D. from the University of Paris in Neuro-Pathological studies which upon he accepted a full professorship at the same University that same year. Parisian doctors at that time had a great interest in the treatment of Lunacy. It is there that Phineas started experimenting with psychotropic drugs and shock treatment to ease the mental disorders of patients. He left in 1899 to come to teach at the London University as professor of psychiatry, but he resigned from his professorship after an incident involving the maltreatment of inmates at the Banstead Asylum using psychotropic drugs and electrical shock therapy causing the death of one young female patient. To avoid prosecution, Phineas left England in 1903 for the United States, settling in Philadelphia PA.
There he became Doctor of Psychiatry at the Pennsylvania Hospital working in the psychiatric ward—the incident in England forgotten. Unfortunately, his continued research on psychotropic drugs with electroshock therapy continued. His colleagues were concerned when it was brought up to them that the voltage be used together with powerful drugs was too extreme. Before they could put a halt to Phineas’ methods, a patient under his treatment died.
Force to resign in 1925, Dr. Kykloedis disappearance for many years only to pop at Professor Elgiew’s Dark Carnival show as Dr. Cylcoid. It is said that Phineas Aloyisius Kycloidies changed his name to Cycloid to prevent any more intrusion upon his past works.
As a sideshow character, Phineas sold elixirs, pills and treated a variety of disorders using low voltage shock therapy. He was most famous for his neuro-stimulator to ease back pain. Sadly, as a recluse, Dr. Clycloid became more removed from the legitimate practice of medicine, and finding access to numerous drugs, became an opium addict. He died 1958 at the age of 99 in his small apartment in the city of Philadelphia having suffering five years with terminal cancer.
Phineas’ father, Nicolaos Alexander Kykloeides 1820-1902 was a barge captain and his mother, Aardina Sophia Verkuilen, was the only child of a local Greek Family who owned large groves of Achaia olive trees along the southern shore of the Gulf of Corinth.
His grandfather; whom he is named after, Phineas Byron Kykloeides (1775-1822) died fighting for Greece Independence during the Ottoman empire when Nicolaos was 2 years old. Phineas’ grandmother, Maria, died of typhoid 4 years later and his father, Nicolaos was raised by his grandfather and grandmother, Byron Kycloeides and Maria Stathios on the island of Samos before migrating back to Lamia. There his father married Aardina in 1859 and Phineas was born a year later
When young Phineas was 5, he had already mastered mathematics and physics with a strong affinity toward the biological sciences. To offer his son a better life, Nicolaos sent Phineas to live with his Dutch uncle in England in 1867, and it was there that Phineas became fascinated with medicine. Before 1870, education was primarily a private affair. Wealthy parents sent their children to fee-paying schools, and in this case, Phineas' uncle, Bonn Verkuilen (his mother’s brother), paid for tutors to educate Phineas in art, Latin, and biology and was apprenticed to a firm of chemists in England at the age of 13, acting as a dispenser to Dr. Spyros Varmaxithis. With a letter of recommendations from Dr. Varmaxithis, at the very young age of 14, Phineas attended the University of Leipzig and received his MD in 1882. While attending the same university, he befriended Emil Kraepelin, who studied under the tutelage of Dr. Paul Flechsig in the area of mental disorders. This is the time that Phineas became interested in neuroscience and the effect of electronic, magnetic resonance with the accompanying chemicals to treat lunacy. In 1888 he received a Ph.D. from the University of Paris in Neuro-Pathological studies which upon he accepted a full professorship at the same University that same year. Parisian doctors at that time had a great interest in the treatment of Lunacy. It is there that Phineas started experimenting with psychotropic drugs and shock treatment to ease the mental disorders of patients. He left in 1899 to come to teach at the London University as professor of psychiatry, but he resigned from his professorship after an incident involving the maltreatment of inmates at the Banstead Asylum using psychotropic drugs and electrical shock therapy causing the death of one young female patient. To avoid prosecution, Phineas left England in 1903 for the United States, settling in Philadelphia PA.
There he became Doctor of Psychiatry at the Pennsylvania Hospital working in the psychiatric ward—the incident in England forgotten. Unfortunately, his continued research on psychotropic drugs with electroshock therapy continued. His colleagues were concerned when it was brought up to them that the voltage be used together with powerful drugs was too extreme. Before they could put a halt to Phineas’ methods, a patient under his treatment died.
Force to resign in 1925, Dr. Kykloedis disappearance for many years only to pop at Professor Elgiew’s Dark Carnival show as Dr. Cylcoid. It is said that Phineas Aloyisius Kycloidies changed his name to Cycloid to prevent any more intrusion upon his past works.
As a sideshow character, Phineas sold elixirs, pills and treated a variety of disorders using low voltage shock therapy. He was most famous for his neuro-stimulator to ease back pain. Sadly, as a recluse, Dr. Clycloid became more removed from the legitimate practice of medicine, and finding access to numerous drugs, became an opium addict. He died 1958 at the age of 99 in his small apartment in the city of Philadelphia having suffering five years with terminal cancer.