Jens Witte, doyen of German surgery, was born on 4 February 1941 in Perleberg, Mark/Brandenburg, the eldest of three sons of a surgeon father. He studied medicine at the Universities of Homburg/Saar, Hamburg and Berlin. After qualifying, he became a medizinalassistent in Bielefeld and Hamburg, spen

Jacques Turcot came from a Canadian family with a long medical tradition. He was Associate Professor of Surgery at Laval University, where he had trained at the medical school. He gained a great reputation for his work as a skilful general surgeon at L'Hôtel-Dieu de Quebec, especially for his long-t

William Gerald Austen, always known as Jerry, was a giant of American cardiothoracic surgery, a past president of the American College of Surgeons, the author of over 500 peer assessed academic publications and a much-loved friend to all who knew him. He was born in Akron, Ohio, to Bertha Marie

John J. Bergan was an innovative and pioneering vascular surgeon who helped develop a separate surgical specialty for diseases of the arteries and veins. Born in Tampico, Mexico on 4 April 1927, he was the son of Ernest and Arva Yealy Bergan. His parents managed property in the area and always spoke

Robert Arnold Fischl was chief of the plastic surgery section of Danbury Hospital, Danbury, Connecticut. He was born in Dresden, Germany on 18 June 1928. His father, Emil Fischl, was a paper manufacturer; his mother, Bettina Hahn, was the daughter of a banker. They left Germany in 1939 and settled i

Edmond Nicoll came from a long line of doctors and was the fourth generation of his family to train at St Bartholomew's Hospital. He qualified in 1940 and became house surgeon to Reginald Vick at Friern Barnet Hospital. He then joined the RAMC and served in the Middle East as a Regimental Medical Of

Amarendra Sengupta was born in Calcutta, India, on 10 January 1933 and qualified MB, BS at the University of Calcutta in 1956. After holding junior appointments at the Christian Medical College in Vellore he came to England in 1958 to obtain further general surgical training in Swindon and Northampt

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

Mahmoud Booz was one of the first specialist orthopaedic surgeons in the Arab world. He was born in a small village in the Sharkiya province of Egypt on 6 June 1926. He completed his basic and high school education in Cairo and then joined the medical school at Cairo University (Kasr Alainy). In his

Roger Graham Keith was the first Fred H Wigmore professor of surgery at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada. He was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada on 14 August 1940, the son of Wilson and Evelyn Keith. He attended Western Canada High School in Calgary, Alberta and then studied medicine at the U

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

Preston Allen Wade was born on 22 March 1901 in Helena, Montana, the son of Claudia and John W. Wade. He moved East to enter the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center with which he was associated for the entirety of his medical career from student to Emeritus Professor. Pep, as he was universa