Later Years
By his own admission, Thayer often suffered from a condition that is now known as bipolar disorder. In his letters, he described it as “the Abbott pendulum,” by which his emotions alternated between the two extremes of (in his words) “all-wellity” and “sick disgust.” This condition apparently worsened as the controversy grew about his camouflage findings, most notably when they were denounced by former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt. As he aged, he suffered increasingly from panic attacks (which he termed “fright-fits”), nervous exhaustion, and suicidal thoughts, so much so that he was no longer allowed to go out in his boat alone on Dublin Pond.
At age 71, Thayer was disabled by a series of strokes, and died quietly at home on May 29, 1921.
Read more about this topic: Abbott Handerson Thayer
Famous quotes containing the word years:
“The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.”
—Bible: Hebrew Psalms, 90:10.
The Book of Common Prayer (1662)
“In a few years there will be only five kings in the world—the King of England and the four kings in a pack of cards.”
—Farouk I (1920–1965)