Dr. Southard was born in Boston, Massachusetts, attended the Boston Latin School and graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard (1897). He wrote poetry and stories and was a chess champion during his college years. He received an M.D. from Harvard in 1901 and his A.M. in 1902. He spent a year of study in Germany and, on his return, assumed the position of pathologist at Boston City Hospital. In 1906, he moved to the Danvers State Hospital. He joined the Harvard Medical School faculty in 1904 and, in 1909, was appointed the Bullard Professor of Neuropathology. In 1912, he became the first Director of the Boston Psychopathic Hospital, now known as the Massachusetts Mental Health Center.
Dr. Southard is recognized as one of the most significant thinkers of psychiatry and practitioners of his time. He helped design a new kind of institution, which moved from the asylum post to establishing one of the first outpatient psychiatric clinics and social service departments to assist in the care of patients in the U.S.
Dr. Southard was a prolific writer, publishing nearly 200 papers as well as collaborating on five books. He was an Associate Editor of the Journal of Nervous & Mental Diseases, Psychiatric Bulletin and the Journal of Clinical and Laboratory Medicine. He was a member of many scientific organizations and editorial boards.
Dr. Southard was President of the American Medico-Psychological Association (1918-19).