Guojun Huang was among the first generation of thoracic surgeons in China and, in the 1980's, a world leader in the treatment of oesophageal cancer. He was born on 2 November 1920 in Guangdong province, China, the son of Hejian Huang, a herbal medicine trader, and his wife Huiqin Liang. Guojun was b

Mahmood Ahmadi was a surgeon at the Veterans’ Affairs (VA) Hospital in West Palm Beach, Florida, USA. He was born into a privileged family in the small agricultural village of Vastan in Iran not far from Tehran. As an infant, he survived an earthquake to which many of his siblings succumbed. Growing

Paul Allen Ebert was an American thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon. He is best known for his contributions to the repair of complex cardiac anomalies in infants and for his directorship of the American College of Surgeons. He is also remembered as a researcher, educator and athlete. Paul Ebert

Yoshihiro Hayata was a pioneer of lung cancer research and professor of surgery at Tokyo Medical University. He was born on 13 January 1924 in Hiroshima, Japan, and studied medicine at Tokyo Medical College, graduating in 1944. He spent much of his career in the department of surgery at Tokyo Med

John Stuart Bailey (or 'JCB') was a consultant cardiothoracic surgeon in Leicester. He was born in Jerusalem, Palestine, and spent his early years in Cairo, before being evacuated in 1940 to Durban and on to England. He was educated at Sherborne School, Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, and St

Arthur Terence Sahanandan ('A T S') Paul was a pioneering cardiothoracic surgeon in Sri Lanka. He was born on 5 September 1915 in Colombo, in what was then Ceylon, into a distinguished Tamil family. His father, Samuel Chelliah Paul, was a senior surgeon at the General Hospital, Colombo, and the firs

Angus Macarthur was a consultant cardiothoracic surgeon at King's College Hospital, London. His life and career spanned vast changes in everyday life, the delivery of healthcare and the practice of surgery. He was born in Southampton on 3 January 1921. His father, Murdoch Macleod Macarthur, was b

Thomas Patrick Joseph Hennessy was a professor of surgery at Trinity College, Dublin and a former president of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. He was born in Graiguenamanagh, County Kilkenny, Ireland on 19 March 1933, the eldest of two sons. His parents ran a pub and drapery. He attended K

Roger Abbey Smith was a consultant surgeon at Walsgrave Hospital, Coventry. He was born in Birkenhead. At the age of 11 he was deeply affected by the early death of his mother from psittacosis pneumonia caught from the family parrot, despite being attended by Henry Cohen, arguably the most celebrate

John Fairman Dark was a thoracic surgeon in Manchester. He was born in London on 18 April 1921, the son of Leonard Dark, a sales manager, and Dorothy Rose Dark née Fairman, a London Hospital nurse. He was educated at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Blackburn, where he won Harrison and Kitchener sc

Michael Meredith Brown was a consultant thoracic surgeon at Midhurst Hospital. He was born on 1 May 1918 in Croydon, the first son of Bernard Meredith, an analytic chemist in the brewing industry, and Doris née Cortazzi, a bank clerk. He was educated at St Anselm’s Preparatory School, Croydon, Bradf

The recent death of Ivan Lichter ONZ has deprived New Zealand medicine of an extraordinary talent. Not only did Ivan have a very successful career as a thoracic surgeon but he went on to become a leading authority and visionary in the care of the terminally ill patient. Ivan was born in South Afr