Plarr’s Lives of the Fellows

Henry J. Mankin MD, the Edith M. Ashley professor of orthopaedics emeritus at Harvard Medical School and past chair of the department of orthopaedic surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital, has been regarded as *arguably the most influential orthopaedic surgeon of his time*. He was born on October 9 1928 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA where his father ran a clothing company. His parents, Hymie and Mary Mankin, were both recent Jewish immigrants from Lithuania. Educated at Taylor Allderdice High School during the second world war, he always retained fond memories of his hometown. After graduating from Pittsburgh University with an MD degree in 1953, he moved to Chicago University where he excelled in his medical studies and began his lifelong practice of habitually wearing a stethoscope. It was at Chicago that he may have first encountered the practice of bone allografts and developed his interest in orthopaedics. He served at a naval base in Nevada during the Korean War and put his skill to good practice mending fractures and delivering babies. On demobilisation in 1960, he joined the staff of the Hospital for Joint Diseases as an orthopaedic resident working with Henry L. Jaffe, the Chief of Pathology. Jaffe became a friend and mentor, introducing him to the study of bone tumours. That same year he joined the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh and continued to serve for years on the Dean’s advisory visiting committee at the medical school. Returning to New York, he was appointed chair at the Hospital for Joint Diseases and Mount Sinai Hospital. He became the Edith M. Ashley professor of orthopaedic surgery at Harvard Medical School in 1972 and chair of orthopaedic surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital, retiring in 1996. He built up an outstanding department in the 24 years he was there. A passionate teacher, student and resident education was central to his commitment to his specialty. His lectures were legendary and illustrated with his unique style and humour. He was famous for his 6:30-a.m. *Breakfasts with Henry*, which prepared his students for the wider aspects of medicine and life as well as the care of patients. He travelled and taught throughout the world and was revered in Japan, Korea, Europe, Israel, and many other places. The author of over 600 publications, he was a consummate researcher, especially in the fields of metabolic bone diseases, osteoarthritis, and musculoskeletal oncology. His wife Carole, a medical librarian who worked at the Treadwell Library at Massachusetts General Hospital, predeceased him in 2012. He died at home on 22 December 2018 after recently celebrating his 90th birthday. He was survived by his three children Allison, David and Keith and his grandchildren