David Littmann

For people with a similar name, see David Littman (disambiguation).

David Littmann (July 28, 1906 – January 1, 1981) was an American cardiologist and Harvard Medical School professor and researcher.^[1] The name Littmann is well known in the medical field for the patented Littmann Stethoscope reputed for its acoustic performances for auscultation.

David Littmann
Born	(1906-07-28)July 28, 1906 Chelsea, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	January 1, 1981(1981-01-01) (aged 74) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Resting place	Sharon Memorial Park, Sharon, Massachusetts, U.S.

A Littmann stethoscope

Littman was born on July 28, 1906 in Chelsea, Massachusetts. His parents, Isaac Litman and Sadie Zewat Litman, were Ukrainian immigrants from Novgorod.

With Gustev Machlup, Dr. David Littmann founded Cardiosonics, Inc. to sell his stethoscopes. At that time the stethoscope line consisted of two key models, the doctor's stethoscope and the nurse's stethoscope.

3M acquired the stethoscope company on April 1, 1967, and hired Dr. Littmann as a consultant. 3M currently produces the range of Littmann brand stethoscopes.^[2]

The 1960s-era Littman Cardiology 3 stethoscope, which is out of patent, became the basis of a 3D-printed stethoscope developed by Dr. Tarek Loubani and a team of medical and technology specialists as part of the open source Glia project.^[3]

Dr. Littmann's son was jazz drummer Peter Littman (1935-1985).