13. One Of The Pioneers Of American Jazz Had Schizophrenia
New Orleans wouldn’t be the same city without the up-tempo, improvise-style music known as jazz. Moreover, one of the pioneers of jazz music there was Buddy Bolden, known as the King of Jazz or King Bolden. He was known for his improvisation and loud music and played most prolifically from the years 1900 to 1907.
Bolden was also a heavy drinker, and in 1907, he had an episode of what was termed “acute alcoholic psychosis.” He later received a diagnosis of schizophrenia, which was then known as dementia praecox. He spent the rest of his life at the Louisiana State Insane Asylum, as a treatment for mental illness at the time consisted of locking people up.
