John P. McGovern (June 2, 1921 - May 31, 2007) was an American

allergist An allergist is a physician specially trained to manage and treat allergies, asthma and the other allergic diseases. They may also be called immunologists. Becoming an allergist Becoming an allergist/immunologist requires completion of at least ...

investor An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future Return on capital, return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital the investor usually purchases some species of pr ...

and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

. He established the McGovern Allergy Clinic in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, created the Texas Allergy Research Foundation and the John P. McGovern Foundation, and co-founded the

American Osler Society The American Osler Society is an organisation dedicated to the history of medicine and focuses on the "life, teachings, and ethical example of Sir William Osler". It works in co-operation with the Osler Library of the History of Medicine at McGill ...

. He is the name sake of the John P. and Katherine G.

McGovern Medical School The John P. and Kathrine G. McGovern Medical School, located in the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas, is the graduate medical school associated with the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth Houston). Established ...

Education

He received his B.S. in Medicine from

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

in 1943 and received his M.D. from the Duke University School of Medicine in 1945. He did post-graduate training at

Yale-New Haven Hospital Yale New Haven Hospital (YNHH) is a 1,541-bed hospital located in New Haven, Connecticut. It is the second-largest hospital in the United States and one of the List of hospitals by capacity, largest in the world. It is the primary teaching hospi ...

, McGuire Hospital and at Duke. At Yale-New Haven Hospital, he was a pediatric intern from July 1945 to June 1946. Then, he served from 1946 to 1948 in the

Medical Corps A medical corps is generally a military branch or staff corps, officer corps responsible for medical care for serving military personnel. Such officers are typically military physicians. List of medical corps The following organizations are exam ...

of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

and as the chief of the

paraplegic Paraplegia, or paraparesis, is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek () "half-stricken". It is usually caused by spinal cord injury or a congenital condition that affects the neura ...

section. He was an assistant resident at Duke for 6 months. He then spent the first half of 1949 in a pediatric fellowship at L'Hôpital des Enfants Malades (

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

) and at

Guy's Hospital Guy's Hospital is an NHS hospital founded by philanthropist Thomas Guy in 1721, located in the borough of Southwark in central London. It is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and one of the institutions that comprise the Kin ...

and

Great Ormond Street Hospital Great Ormond Street Hospital (informally GOSH, formerly the Hospital for Sick Children) is a children's hospital located in the Bloomsbury area of the London Borough of Camden, and a part of Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS F ...

(both in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

). Next, he served as assistant chief, then chief resident for another year and a half at

Children's Hospital A children's hospital (CH) is a hospital that offers its services exclusively to infants, children, adolescents, and young adults from birth up to until age 18, and through age 21 and older in the United States. In certain special cases, the ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

In 1951, he was a study of pulmonary pathology at

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is the third oldest medical school in the Un ...

and

Boston Children's Hospital Boston Children's Hospital (formerly known as Children's Hospital Boston until 2013) is the main pediatric training and research hospital of Harvard Medical School, Harvard University. It is a nationally ranked, freestanding acute care children ...

Career

After graduating from

Duke University School of Medicine The Duke University School of Medicine, commonly known as Duke Med, is the medical school of Duke University. It was established in 1925 by James B. Duke. The School of Medicine, along with the Duke University School of Nursing, Duke Universi ...

, McGovern taught at

George Washington University Medical School The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences (abbreviated as GW Medical School, GW Medicine, or SMHS) is the professional medical school of the George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. SMHS is one of the most ...

and

Tulane Medical School Tulane University School of Medicine is the medical school of Tulane University and is located in the Medical District of the New Orleans Central Business District in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. History The school was founded in 183 ...

. He held 17 professorships, received 29 honorary doctorates, and authored over 250 professional publications and books. He was also the President and Chief Elect Officer of 15 professional medical societies. In 1956, McGovern founded an allergy clinic in Houston known as the McGovern Allergy & Asthma Clinic. As of 2025, the clinic remains operational.

Philanthropy

In 1961, McGovern established the John P. McGovern Foundation as a private philanthropy. Through the Foundation, McGovern gave millions of dollars to various local and health charities. As of 2003, the foundation was the 10th largest in Houston. A lifelong admirer of

Sir William Osler Sir William Osler, 1st Baronet, (; July 12, 1849 – December 29, 1919) was a Canadian physician and one of the "Big Four" founding professors of Johns Hopkins Hospital. Osler created the first residency program for specialty training of phys ...

and the principals of compassionate care he espoused, McGovern co-founded the

in 1969.

Notable contributions

* In 1998, the foundation gave $6.5M to establish the McGovern-Davison Children’s Health Center at Duke. The center was co-named for McGovern and his mentor, Wilburt Cornell Davison. * In 2001, McGovern gave $5 million to the

University of Texas Medical Branch The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) is a Public university, public Academic health science centre, academic health science center in Galveston, Texas, United States. It is part of the University of Texas System. UTMB includes the olde ...

(UTMB) to create endowments for 5 William Osler Scholars, forming the John P. McGovern Academy of Oslerian Medicine. The endowments award practicing faculty physicians for their commitment to teaching, practicing and emulating the principals of compassionate care. * In 2003, the Foundation gave $2.5M to UTMB, with $1M provided to create an endowment for a 6th Osler Scholar. * Various donations to

Texas Medical Center The Texas Medical Center (TMC) is a List of neighborhoods in Houston, neighborhood in south-central Houston, Texas, United States. It is immediately south of the Houston Museum District, Museum District and west of Texas State Highway 288. Over 6 ...

for the construction of facilities, a commons area and gardens. * In November 2015, the Foundation donated $75M to bolster medical training, provide full scholarships, and support scientific discovery and innovation at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. It has been the single largest gift from the John P. McGovern Foundation. In honor of the largest gift in university history, the medical school was renamed the John P. and Kathrine G.

. The endowment will also support the school's McGovern Center for Humanities and Ethics which was established from an earlier foundation gift. * In January 2017, the foundation gave $20 million to the University of Houston College of the Arts to create a permanent endowment that will benefit arts students and faculty, as well as community outreach. The Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts will be the first college at the university named after a former student and also the first named after a woman.

Awards

McGovern is the recipient of 29

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

s. McGovern was named as a fellow to various scientific and medical organizations including the American Association of Pediatrics (1952), the American Association of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (1955, Distinguished Fellow in 1971),

American Medical Writers Association The American Medical Writers Association (AMWA) is a professional association for medical communicators, with more than 4,000 members in the United States, Canada, and 30 other countries. AMWA is governed by a board of directors composed of the ele ...

(1967),

American College of Physicians The American College of Physicians (ACP) is a Philadelphia-based national organization of internal medicine physicians, who specialize in the diagnosis, treatment, and care of adults. With 161,000 members, ACP is the largest medical-specialty or ...

(1971), the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

(1972),

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians of London, commonly referred to simply as the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of ph ...

(honorary, 1984) and the

American Society of Addiction Medicine The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), founded in 1954, is a professional medical society representing over 7,000 physicians, clinicians, and associated professionals in the field of addiction medicine. ASAM is dedicated to increasin ...

(1998). In 1976, McGovern was awarded the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Duke University.

Other awards

American School Health Association The American School Health Association (ASHA) is a professional association. It claims a membership of 1,000 members in all 50 US states and other nations. More than half practice in K-12 schools or administer health education or health services ...

Distinguished Alumnus Award and the William A. Howe Award *

President Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party and became an important figure in ...

Private Sector Initiative Commendation (1985) * The Harold Swanberg Distinguished Service Award and the Special Award for Meritorious Service from the

* Surgeon General's Medal in 1989 for "lifetime of meritorious and multi-faceted contributions to the broad field of health promotion and disease prevention and specifically, more recently for his seminal work on our Drunk Driving Initiative". * Distinguished Service Award from the International Council on Alcohol and Addictions (ICAA) * Royal

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish language, Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden''), sometimes translated as the Royal Order of the North Star, is a Swedish order of chivalry created by Frederick I of Sweden, King Frederick I on 23 F ...

(

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

) in 1988 * L'Ordre National du Merite (France) in 1988 *

Kemal Atatürk Kemal may refer to: ;People * Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, a Turkish politician and the first president of Turkey * Kemal (name), a Turkish name ;Places * Kemalpaşa, İzmir Province, Turkey * Mustafakemalpaşa, Bursa Province, Turkey ;See also *"Kema ...

Gold Medal Distinguished Service Award (

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

) in 1989 * Annual Outstanding Scholarship in Health Care Award from the American Association of Colleges of Nurses in 1990 * Outstanding Alumnus Award from

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

in 1991 * First Honorary Partner, Points of Light Campaign * Distinguished Citizen Award from the

Rotary Club Rotary International is one of the largest Service club, service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, go ...

of Houston in 2001 * Houston Hall of Fame (2003) * Presidents Award from the Texas Association of Museums (2003) * First recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Lung Association of Texas (2004)

Honors

* John P. McGovern Award in Behavioral Sciences (Lecture) ( AAAS). * John P. McGovern Science and Society Award,

Sigma Xi Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society () is an international non-profit honor society for scientists and engineers. Sigma Xi was founded at Cornell University by a faculty member and graduate students in 1886 and is one of the oldest ...

. * John P. McGovern Centennial Award. * John P. McGovern Award in Science, Literature, Arts and the Humanities - Cosmos Club (Lecture). * John P. McGovern Champion of Health Award. * John P. McGovern Award on Addiction and Society ( ASAM).

References

External links

John P. McGovern Texas Medical Center Commons

John P. McGovern Children's Zoo
at the

Houston Zoo The Houston Zoo is a zoological park located within Hermann Park in Houston, Texas, United States. The zoo houses over 6,000 animals from more than 900 species. It receives around 2 million visitors each year and is the second most visited zoo ...

McGovern Allergy and Asthma Clinic

John P. and Kathrine G. McGovern Medical School
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGovern, John P. United States Army Medical Corps officers Duke University School of Medicine alumni 1921 births 2007 deaths American pediatricians 20th-century American philanthropists American expatriates in the United Kingdom American expatriates in France Harvard Medical School people Presidents of the American Osler Society