Biographical Sketch: Virgil Pendelton Gibney, MD, 1847–1927

This biographical sketch on Virgil Pendelton Gibney corresponds to the historic text, The Classic: Chapter XVIII. Operative Treatment in Chronic Articular Ostitis, available at DOI 10.1007/s11999-009-1165-3

Local Chemotherapy with Primary Closure of Septic Wounds by Means of Drainage and Irrigation Cannulae: M. N. Smith-Petersen MD (1886–1953), Carroll B. Larson MD, Williams Cochran MD The 12th President of the AAOS 1943 (MNS-P)

Marius Nygaard Smith-Petersen was born in Grimstad, Norway, of a prominent merchant marine family in 1886 [2]. He came to the States with his mother in 1903 and, initially unable to speak English, completed high school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1906. He then attended the University of Chicago (1906–07) and graduated from the University of Wisconsin (1910) and the Harvard Medical School (1914) [4]. He completed his surgical internship under Harvey Cushing at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, then his postgraduate orthopaedic training under Dr. Elliott Gray Brackett, at the Massachusetts General Hospital and became his assistant in practice 1917. In 1922 Dr. Smith-Petersen entered private practice in Boston, working at the Massachusetts General Hospital. He continued working there with a heavy clinic and operating schedule until shortly before his death from a brief illness in 1953 at the age of 67

John Hilton, 1805–1878

This biographical sketch of John Hilton corresponds to the historic text, The Classic: On Rest and Pain: Lecture XIV, available at DOI 10.1007/s11999-009-0928-1

Biographical Sketch: Nathaniel Allison, 1876–1932

This biographical sketch of Nathaniel Allison corresponds to the historic text, The Classic: Symposium on Arthroplasty: Arthroplasty: Experimental and Clinical Methods, available at DOI 10.1007/s11999-009-1120-3

Arthrodesing Operations on the Feet: Edwin W. Ryerson MD (1872–1961) The 1st President of the AAOS 1932

Dr. Edwin Warner Ryerson was born in New York City, graduated from Harvard, then trained at Boston Children’s Hospital [1]. After visiting centers in Berlin and Vienna he moved to Chicago in 1899, where he accepted a post at Rush Medical College. In 1916 he was named professor and head of orthopaedics at the University of Illinois College of Medicine. Owing to WWI he entered military service in 1918–1919. Afterward he became head of orthopaedics at Northwestern University until his retirement from the university in 1935. He continued in private practice until 1947, when he retired to Florida

Congenital Elevation of the Scapula: Robert D. Schrock MD (1884–1960) The 9th President of the AAOS 1940

Dr. Robert D. Schrock was born in 1884 in Delaware, Ohio [3]. His father, William A., was a physician, as was his son, Robert D., Jr. The family subsequently moved to Decatur, Indiana. Dr. Robert Schrock obtained his undergraduate work at Wabash College, Crawfordsville, Indiana, in 1908 [2] and his medical degree at Cornell University Medical School in 1912 [2]. He completed postgraduate work at the New York Hospital in New York City. He briefly practiced in Omaha with Dr. John Lord, then served as a surgeon in WW I, working under Lt. Col. Joel Goldthwait in France. After the war he returned to Omaha to again practice with Lord. In 1921 he was appointed to the faculty of the University of Nebraska School of Medicine and became Professor and Chair in 1932, a post he held until 1949, when he became Professor Emeritus

Fractures of the Neck of the Femur in Childhood: John C. Wilson, Sr., MD (1888–1957) The 7th President of the AAOS 1938

John Cree Wilson, Sr, was born in Santa Ana, California, and received his undergraduate degree from the University of California in 1908 and medical degree from the University of California, San Francisco, in 1912 [2]. He had a one year internship, then entered private practice, but apparently believed he needed more training and in 1916 quit his private practice for postgraduate training at the Massachusetts General Hospital. He completed that training, then served in military hospital at Fort McPherson, Georgia, when the US entered WW I. Following discharge he moved to Los Angeles, working at the Los Angeles General Hospital and then the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. He became Chief of the Orthopaedic Division at the Children’s Hospital, a post he retained until 1955

Transplantation of Entire Bones with their Joint Surfaces: A. Bruce Gill MD (1876–1965) The 6th President of the AAOS 1937

Arthur Bruce Gill was born in Western Pennsylvania and obtained his undergraduate degree at Muskingum College in New Concord, Ohio [1]. He then obtained his medical degree at the University of Pennsylvania in 1905, interned there, and remained on the staff for 47 years. He became the third chairman of that department in 1920. He was active in a large number of organizations well into the 1950s

Clubfoot: Etiology and Treatment Ignacio V. Ponseti, MD, 1914–

This biographical sketch of Ignacio V. Ponseti, MD, corresponds to the historic text, The Classic: Congenital Club Foot: The Results of Treatment, available at DOI 10.1007/s11999-009-0720-2 and The Classic: Observations on Pathogenesis and Treatment of Congenital Clubfoot, available at DOI 10.1007/s11999-009-0721-1

Fractures of the Femur. End Results*: Melvin S. Henderson MD (1883–1954) The 5th President of the AAOS 1936

Melvin Starkey Henderson was born in St. Paul, Minnesota and received his early schooling there and in Winnipeg, Manitoba [4]. He received his undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Toronto. He then interned in the City and County Hospital in his home town of St. Paul, and in 1907 went to work as an assistant with the founders of the recently formed Mayo Clinic, William James and Charles Horace Mayo. To further his training and evidently at the suggestion of the Mayo brothers, in 1911 Dr. Henderson went abroad to work under Sir Robert Jones in Liverpool and then Sir Harold Stiles in Edinburgh. He returned to organize and direct the section of orthopaedic surgery at the Mayo Clinic and spent his entire professional career there