Benjamin Spock, American pediatrician, activist, and author (died 1998)

Benjamin McLane Spock, widely known as Dr. Spock, was an American pediatrician, Olympian athlete and left-wing political activist. His book Baby and Child Care (1946) is one of the best-selling books of the 20th century, selling 500,000 copies in the six months after its initial publication and 50 million by the time of Spock's death in 1998. The book's premise told mothers, "You know more than you think you do." Dr. Spock was widely regarded as a trusted source for parenting advice in his generation.