Robert Henry Cram was on the medical staff of the University of Pennsylvania, USA. He was born in Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada on 10 December 1916, the son of Henry Wilkes Cram and Helen Elizabeth Cram née Martin and grew up in London, Ontario. He studied medicine at the University of Western Ontario, London. He went to the UK for further training and gained his FRCS in 1950. In 1952 he was appointed to the staff of the University of Pennsylvania, where he taught until his retirement in 1995. He was involved with Rotary International and made six trips to Malawi. His work was recognised by the awarding of Rotary International’s distinguished service award. He married his first wife Mary Breithaupt in 1946. She died in 1974 and he married Nancy. Cram died on 26 December 2002 at the age of 86 and was survived by his wife, his daughters Barbara and Catherine, stepsons Peter and Phillip, and five grandchildren.