Evarts Ambrose Graham (March 19, 1883– March 4, 1957) was an American academic, physician, and surgeon.

Early years and military service

Born in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

to a surgeon, David Wilson Graham, and Ida Ansbach Barned Graham, Evarts attended college at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

( A.B., 1904) and received his

M.D. A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of physician. This ge ...

degree from

Rush Medical College Rush Medical College is the medical school of Rush University, a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Established in 1837, it is affiliated with Rush University Medical Center, and John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County. ...

in 1907. Graham then trained as a surgery resident at Presbyterian Hospital in Chicago, and subsequently as a graduate student in chemistry at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

. There, he met his wife, Helen Tredway, Ph.D. (1890-1971), a biochemist and pharmacologist. Evarts served as a Major (O4) in the U.S. Army Medical Corps from 1917 to 1919, and was initially posted to Camp Lee (now Fort Lee, Virginia). He completed revolutionary new work on surgical technique for the treatment of

empyema An empyema (; ) is a collection or gathering of pus within a naturally existing anatomical cavity. The term is most commonly used to refer to pleural empyema, which is empyema of the pleural cavity. It is similar or the same in meaning as an a ...

, which had become important following the

influenza Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These sympto ...

pandemic of 1918. Afterwards, Graham served in France as commander of U.S. Army Evacuation Hospital 34.

Career at Washington University

Following his discharge from military service, he was recruited to

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

, MO as the Bixby Professor of Surgery. An expert thoracic surgeon, he was best known for collaborating with Jacob J. Singer, Kenneth Bell, and William Adams on the first successful removal of a lung for the treatment of

bronchogenic carcinoma Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cell (biology), cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemi ...

in 1933. The patient was another physician (an

obstetrician Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgi ...

gynecologist Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences) is the area of medicine concerned with conditions affecting the female reproductive system. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, which focuses on pre ...

from

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

), James Lee Gilmore. In 1924, together with fellow surgeon Warren Henry Cole, Graham developed the technique of

cholecystography Oral cholecystography is a radiological procedure used to visualize the gallbladder In vertebrates, the gallbladder, also known as the cholecyst, is a small hollow Organ (anatomy), organ where bile is stored and concentrated before it is ...

, the first procedure for imaging the gallbladder and detecting the presence of

cholelithiasis A gallstone is a stone formed within the gallbladder from precipitated bile components. The term cholelithiasis may refer to the presence of gallstones or to any disease caused by gallstones, and choledocholithiasis refers to the presence of ...

. Graham was instrumental in founding the

American Board of Surgery The American Board of Surgery (ABS) is an independent, non-profit organization located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founded for the purpose of certifying surgeons who have met a defined standard of education, training and knowledge. Surgeons cert ...

in 1937 and he was active as a medical editor and author. Graham was Editor-in-Chief of the ''Yearbook of Surgery'' & the ''Journal of Thoracic Surgery'', and Co-Editor-in-Chief of ''Annals of Surgery''.''Op cit''., ref. 5 Graham served as the chairman of the department of surgery at

Washington University School of Medicine Washington University School of Medicine (WashU Medicine) is the medical school of Washington University in St. Louis, located in the Central West End neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1891, the School of Medicine shares a ca ...

(WUSM) from 1919 to 1951, and the chief of surgery at Barnes Hospital, the teaching medical center of WUSM now known as

Barnes-Jewish Hospital Barnes-Jewish Hospital is the largest hospital in the U.S. state of Missouri. Located in the Central West End, St. Louis, Central West End neighborhood of St. Louis, it is the adult teaching hospital for Washington University School of Medicin ...

. Graham and Ernst Wynder conducted the first systematic research on the carcinogenic effects of cigarette smoking that was done on a large scale, and they published their results in a 1950 paper in the ''

Journal of the American Medical Association ''JAMA'' (''The Journal of the American Medical Association'') is a peer-reviewed medical journal published 48 times a year by the American Medical Association. It publishes original research, reviews, and editorials covering all aspects of ...

'' (JAMA).

Illness and death

Graham himself had been a long-time cigarette smoker until his own research, known as the 1950 Wynder and Graham Study, supported a link between smoking and disease, and he ironically died from

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

in 1957. He was survived by his wife and two sons—Evarts A. Graham Jr. (1921–1996), an editor, and David Tredway Graham (1918–1999), an internist. Evarts Graham's seminal lung cancer surgery patient in 1933, Gilmore, also outlived him by six years, dying in 1963 at the age of 78.

Honors and awards

In 1941, Graham was elected to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

. That same year, he was elected to the United States

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

. He was awarded the Lister Medal in 1942 for his contributions to surgical science. The corresponding Lister Oration, given at the

Royal College of Surgeons of England The Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England) is an independent professional body and registered charity that promotes and advances standards of surgery, surgical care for patients, and regulates surgery and dentistry in England and Wa ...

, was not delivered until 1947, and was titled 'Some Aspects of Bronchogenic Carcinoma'. His other awards included the gold medal of the

Radiological Society of North America The Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) is a non-profit organization and an international society of radiologists, medical physicists and other medical imaging professionals representing 31 radiologic subspecialties from 145 countries a ...

; the Leonard Research Prize of the American Roentgen Ray Society; the gold medal of the St. Louis Medical Society; the gold medal of the Southern Medical Society; and presidency of the International Congress of Surgeons in 1953-1954.''Op cit''., ref. 3. Graham received honorary doctorates from the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

Western Reserve University Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US * Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia * Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that ...

, the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

, and the

. Named lectureships included the Harvey, Mutter, McArthur, Shattuck, Alvarez, Joyce, Arthur Dean Bevan, Caldwell, Balfour, and Judd Lectures.

References

External links

National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoir
{{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, Evarts Ambrose 1883 births 1957 deaths Physicians from Chicago United States Army Medical Corps officers Deaths from lung cancer in Missouri Princeton University alumni Military personnel from St. Louis United States Army personnel of World War I Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Members of the American Philosophical Society Washington University School of Medicine faculty Presidents of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery