Dr. Serge: The Man That Made Millions in the 1920's Transplanting Monkey Testicle Tissue into the Ballsacks of Millionaires
Few figures in medical history have managed to balance fame, controversy, and sheer eccentricity quite like Dr Serge Voronoff, a man who once promised the world eternal youth through the transplantation of monkey glands. His name, once synonymous with the cutting edge of science, became a byword for the strange and the sensational. Born in Russia, celebrated in Paris, and whispered about from Chicago to Cairo, Voronoff’s work touched on the timeless human desire for rejuvenation and immortality. His experiments, while eventually debunked, left an indelible mark on the early 20th century, inspiring everything from cocktails to satire.
Cultural Fame: From Poetry to Cocktails
The poet E.E. Cummings wrote of a “famous doctor who inserts monkey glands in millionaires,” while the Marx Brothers, in their 1929 pre-code musical The Cocoanuts, sang, “If you’re too old for dancing / Get yourself a monkey gland.” Chicago surgeon Max Thorek reflected that “fashionable dinner parties and cracker barrel confabs” alike buzzed with talk of “Monkey Glands.” Even the Ritz Paris got in on the act, creating a cocktail of gin, orange juice, grenadine, and absinthe aptly named “The Monkey Gland” - (5cl of gin, 3cl of orange juice, 2 drops of absinthe, 2 drops of Grenadine)
This cultural moment stemmed entirely from the eccentric work of Dr Serge Voronoff, a Russian-born French surgeon who claimed he had discovered the secret to eternal youth: grafting monkey testicle tissue onto human testicles. In a time when scientific optimism was unbridled, Voronoff’s experiments caught the imagination of the elite, becoming both a sensation and a punchline.
From Russia to Paris: Early Life and Career
Serge Voronoff was born in 1866 in Russia and later moved to France to study medicine. His career began in earnest under the tutelage of leading French physicians. It was during his time in Egypt, however, that he developed his lifelong fascination with endocrinology. Observing the effects of castration on eunuchs, Voronoff became intrigued by the relationship between glandular function and ageing. These early observations laid the groundwork for his later experiments.
The Birth of the Monkey Testicle Phenomenon
Voronoff’s first official monkey gland transplant occurred on 12 June 1920. Thin slices of testicle tissue from chimpanzees and baboons were grafted onto human testicles. Voronoff claimed these procedures rejuvenated his patients, restoring vitality, enhancing memory, and prolonging life. By 1923, his work was lauded at the International Congress of Surgeons in London, where over 700 attendees celebrated what they saw as a revolutionary advance in medicine.
Initially, Voronoff sourced testicles from executed criminals, but as demand grew, he opened a monkey farm in Ventimiglia on the Italian Riviera. The farm employed a former circus-animal keeper to oversee operations and became a destination for the curious elite. Even French-born American opera star Lily Pons was said to be a frequent visitor.
Elite Clientele and Exotic Experiments
Voronoff’s clientele included millionaires and industrial magnates, such as Harold McCormick of the International Harvester Company. By the early 1930s, over 500 men in France alone had undergone the procedure, with thousands more seeking treatment worldwide. Voronoff’s rejuvenation clinics even extended to Algiers. Among his patients was his younger brother Georges, a testament to how deeply Voronoff believed in his own techniques.
Not content to stop at men, Voronoff turned his attention to women, transplanting monkey ovaries in the hopes of offering similar benefits. Ever the experimenter, he also tried transplanting human ovaries into female monkeys and inseminating the primates with human sperm. These bizarre attempts inspired Félicien Champsaur’s novel Nora, the Monkey Turned Woman, a fictional account of human-primate hybridisation.
Extravagance and Publicity
Voronoff’s success brought him immense wealth and notoriety. He occupied an entire floor of a luxurious Parisian hotel, maintained an entourage of chauffeurs, valets, personal secretaries, and mistresses, and became a regular feature in the press. His financial backer and wife, Evelyn Bostwick, an American socialite, played a key role in funding his experiments and even worked as his laboratory assistant. Her support allowed Voronoff to push the boundaries of xenotransplantation further than ever before.
In his 1925 book Rejuvenation by Grafting, Voronoff claimed his surgeries could improve sex drive, enhance memory, reduce the need for glasses, and extend life expectancy. He even speculated that his techniques might help treat schizophrenia, then known as dementia praecox.
Serge Voronoff performing testicular extraction on an ape for subsequent implantation in a human.
The Fall of the Monkey Gland Man
By the late 1930s, cracks in Voronoff’s reputation began to appear. Critics noted that his procedures failed to produce lasting results and often yielded no benefit at all. British surgeon Kenneth Walker dismissed Voronoff’s treatments as “no better than the methods of witches and magicians.” The advent of testosterone research in the 1940s further discredited his work; injections of the hormone failed to deliver the dramatic rejuvenation he had promised.
Public opinion turned, and Voronoff became a target of ridicule. Novelty ashtrays featuring monkeys shielding their genitals bore the phrase, “No, Voronoff, you won’t get me!” By the end of the decade, his clinics had closed, and his name was largely forgotten.
The Legacy: Science and Satire
Voronoff’s influence extended beyond the operating table. His experiments inspired the character of Professor Preobrazhensky in Mikhail Bulgakov’s 1925 novel Heart of a Dog, a satire about a scientist who implants human organs into a stray dog with disastrous results. The “Monkey Gland” cocktail, still served today, is another curious reminder of his cultural footprint.
A typed receipt for payment on Collège de France stationery, compensating him for his work as the director of a laboratory. Voronoff’s salary is 20,000 francs a year, with 5,000 francs disbursed each trimester before deductions. His handwritten note in the lower left corner acknowledges receipt of 4561 francs.
Despite his fall from grace, some aspects of Voronoff’s work are viewed more sympathetically today. His early insights into endocrinology and glandular function paved the way for advances in hormone replacement therapy and modern transplant medicine. However, his grand claims of rejuvenation remain a cautionary tale about the dangers of unchecked scientific ambition.
A Peculiar Footnote in Medical History
Dr Serge Voronoff died in 1951 in Lausanne, Switzerland, from complications following a fall. His passing went largely unnoticed, with some newspapers even misspelling his name in obituaries. Yet, his story endures as a fascinating, if eccentric, chapter in medical history. Today, his work is remembered not for its scientific breakthroughs but for the audacious spectacle it created.
Next time you sip a Monkey Gland cocktail, raise a toast to Serge Voronoff—a man whose quest for eternal youth captured the spirit of an era, blending science, spectacle, and no small amount of hubris.