Born 12 January 1862 at Westport, Connecticut, the eldest son of Horace Bradley Coley, farmer, and Clarine Bradley Wakeman, his wife. He was educated at Westport School, at Yale University (1880) and at the Harvard Medical School (1886-88). He acted as instructor in surgery at the New York Postgradu

Donald Robertson Webster was professor of surgery at McGill University and surgeon-in-chief of the Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal, Canada. He was born on 7 January 1912, the son of a doctor from Pictou, Nova Scotia, and graduated from Dalhousie University in 1925. After postgraduate studies at

Born on 20 December 1886 at Mooresville, North Carolina, he was educated at Davidson College and the University of Maryland, and served as resident surgeon at the University of Maryland Hospital, Baltimore in 1909. In 1916 he was called to the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, as assistant surgeon

Born 1882 at Barrie, Ontario, of pioneer Scottish parents, he was educated at Barrie Grammar School where he did well at work and games. In 1899 he entered the medical faculty of the University of Toronto, from which he graduated with honours in 1903, the youngest member of his class. He played hock

Educated at McGill University, Montreal, graduating in 1931, he came to London for postgraduate study at St Bartholomew's Hospital, and took the Fellowship in 1939. He served throughout the war of 1939-45, reaching the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. Returning to Canada he was appointed associate sur

Roger Wilson was born in Victoria, British Columbia on 28 May 1910, and was educated at Victoria College and the University of British Columbia, graduating MD CM at McGill in 1934. He then worked at the Mallory Institute of Pathology, and was an intern at the Montreal General Hospital from 1935-1937

Lloyd Nyhus was the first Warren Cole professor and head of surgery, and the second academic surgeon, at the University of Illinois, Chicago. During his 22 years as head of the department, Nyhus developed innovative, multidisciplinary residency programmes for more than 300 doctors and recruited top-

Roger James was a general surgeon who lived and worked in Canada. He qualified from the University of Sheffield in 1953 and passed the fellowship in 1960. He moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba where he was on the staff of the Misericordia General and Victoria General Hospitals. He died on 18 January 2007.

Joel Wilson Baker was chair of the department of surgery at Virginia Mason Hospital and Medical Center, Seattle, USA. He was born in Shenandoah, Virginia, in 1905 and studied medicine at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, qualifying MD in 1928. He moved to Seattle in 1930 to join a group

Jim Thompson was an outstanding surgical scientist and educator, arguably without parallel in the latter half of the 20th century. His publications, almost all relating to gastrointestinal physiology, totalled nearly 1,000; he trained 131 research fellows and was the recipient of 265 visiting profes

Born on 1 October 1894 at Bishopstoke, Hampshire, son of Dr Henry James Bailey MB, MS (Edin). He was educated at St Lawrence College, Ramsgate and then entered the London Hospital Medical College. His studies were interrupted by the first world war and whilst serving as a dresser with the first Belg

Murray Pheils was professor of surgery at the University of Sydney. He was born in Birmingham on 2 December 1917, the younger of the two sons of Elmer Theodore Pheils, an osteopath, and Lilian Mary née Cole. His father Elmer was a colourful character: he was born in Toledo, Ohio, and trained as an o