Daily AncestorParalysis agitans
Paralysis agitans, or shaking palsy, was the old medical name for Parkinson's disease, with trembling, stiffness and slow movement.
Wiktionary marks paralysis agitans as an archaic name for Parkinson's disease. In 1817 English physician James Parkinson published the first full description in An Essay on the Shaking Palsy, and in the 1860s Jean-Martin Charcot expanded it.
Parkinson described a trembling and stooping disease; later doctors added slowness of movement to the picture. On a death record it names a long nerve disease rather than the final cause.
As seen in a recordCause of death line, state death certificate, 1910s to 1930s
Conrad Fehr, 71, M, W, Paralysis agitans
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Daily Ancestor. "Paralysis agitans." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/causes-of-death/paralysis-agitans. Last checked 2026-10-10.