John R. Callahan (1853 – February 12, 1918) was a pioneer in the field of

dentistry Dentistry, also known as dental medicine and oral medicine, is the branch of medicine focused on the Human tooth, teeth, gums, and Human mouth, mouth. It consists of the study, diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases, dis ...

and particularly dental research in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born in

Hillsboro, Ohio Hillsboro is a city in and the county seat of Highland County, Ohio, United States, approximately west of Chillicothe, Ohio, Chillicothe and east of Cincinnati. The population was 6,481 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Hi ...

in 1853, Callahan received his dental degree from the Philadelphia Dental College in 1877. He practiced dentistry in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

for two years before returning to Hillsboro where he practiced until 1890. He then moved to

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

joining the practice of Dr. C. R. Taft. In 1884 he was selected Secretary of the Ohio State Dental Society and served until 1890. In 1892 he was elected President of the Society and was a member of the Board of Directors from 1894 to 1918. He served as President of the Cincinnati Dental Society 1906–1907. His major research was in diseases of the dental pulp. He also contributed papers on materials and methods for filling root canals; notably, chloro-percha. His original contribution of the use of

sulfuric acid Sulfuric acid (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen, ...

for opening root canals was significant at the time as were his investigations on dental materials and patient management problems. Callahan was a member of the Institute on Dental Research of the

National Dental Association The National Dental Association (NDA) is a professional association of minority dentists based in Washington, D.C., and operating in the United States, Canada and Latin America. Formed in 1913, it is the largest such association in the world. A ...

. The Jarvie Fellowship Medal was awarded to him in 1917. He died on February 12, 1918.

The Callahan Memorial Award Commission

To perpetuate Callahan's memory, the Ohio State Dental Society in 1920 established the Callahan Memorial Award Commission which was given two charges. First, a bronze bust of Callahan sculpted by Frederick C. Hibbard of Chicago was placed on the grounds of the Cincinnati General Hospital – in 1937 it was moved to the College of Dentistry of the Ohio State University. Second, the awarding of an Annual Callahan Memorial Award Medallion, recognizing excellence in the profession. The names of the recipients are inscribed on a bronze plaque displayed in the Ohio Dental Association headquarters. Since 1941, the Callahan Memorial Commission has also given a scholarship prize to the highest ranking dental graduate from both Case Western Reserve University and The Ohio State University. The names of the recipients are inscribed on bronze plaques displayed in these institutions.

Callahan Memorial Awardees

*1922 – James Leon Williams *1923 – Frederick B. Noyes *1924 – Clarence J. Grives *1925 – Edward C. Rosenow *1926 – Percy R. Howe *1927 – Howard R. Raper *1928 – William J.Gies *1929 – Russel W. Bunting *1930 – Rodrigues Ottolengui *1931 –

Weston A. Price Weston Andrew Valleau Price (September 6, 1870 – January 23, 1948) was a Canadian dentist known primarily for his theories on the relationship between nutrition, dental health, and physical health. He founded the research institute National Den ...

*1932 – Herman Prinz *1933 – Homer C. Brown *1934 – U. Garfield Rickert *1935 – E.V. McCollum *1936 – C.N. Johnson *1937 – Harvey J. Burkhart *1938 – Joseph L.T. Appleton *1939 – Clarence O. Simpson *1940 – Arthur H. Merritt *1941 – Edward H. Hatton *1942 – Marcus L. Ward *1943 – Arno B. Luckhardt *1944 – J. Ben Robinson *1946 – James Roy Blayney *1947 – Edgar D. Coolidge *1948 – Herman Becks *1949 – Frederick S. McKay *1950 – Thomas J. Hill *1951 – Kurt H. Thoma *1952 – Holly Broadbent *1953 – Paul C. Kitchin *1954 – Charles F. Bodecker *1955 – Joseph L. Bernier *1956 – Edward C. Stafne *1957 – Allan G. Brodie *1958 – George C. Paffenbarger *1959 – Henry Trendley Dean *1960 – Paul H. Jeserich *1961 – Paul O. Pedersen *1962 – Clyde H. Schuyler *1963 – Francis A. Arnold *1964 – Hamilton Robinson *1965 – Herbert Cooper *1966 – Paul E. Boyle *1966 – Wendell D. Postle *1967 – Wilton M. Krogman *1968 – Ralph W. Phillips *1969 – Harold Hillenbrand *1970 – Carl O. Boucher *1971 – Donald Kerr *1972 – Hans H. Friehofer *1972 – Robert B.Shira *1973 – Philip E. Blackerby *1974 – Maynard K. Hine *1975 – Seymour J. Kreshover *1976 – Rafael L. Bowen *1977 – Lindsey D. Pankey *1978 – Robert J. Nelsen *1979 – Joseph F. Volker *1980 – Rex Ingraham *1981 – Wallace D. Armstrong *1982 – Louis J. Baume *1982 – Judson C.Hickey *1983 – William G. Shafer *1984 – Nelson W. Rupp *1985 – David B.Scott *1986 – Morgan L. Allison *1987 – Harry Lyons *1988 – Gardner Foley *1989 – Wilmer B. Eames *1990 – Charles McCullum *1991 – Alvin L. Morris *1992 – Julian B. Woelfel *1993 – D. Walter Cohen *1994 – Paul M. Flory *1995 – Harald Lõe *1996 –

William R. Proffit William Robert Proffit (April 19, 1936 – September 30, 2018) was an American orthodontist. He was made a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1966. Proffit led the department of orthodontics at the University of N ...

*1997 – Irwin D. Mandel *1998 – Gordon J. Christensen *1998 – Samuel D. Harris *1999 – Arthur S. Dugoni *2000 – Burton C. Borgelt *2001 – Harold C. Slavkin *2002 – Lawrence H. Meskin *2003 – Clifton O. Dummett *2004 – Linda C. Niessen *2004 – P.I. Brañemark *2005 – Robert J. Genco *2006 –

Jeanne Sinkford Jeanne Craig Sinkford (born 1933) is an American dentist and academic administrator. She was the first female dean of an American dental school. She is a senior scholar in residence at the American Dental Education Association and a professor and d ...

*2007 – Bernard Machen *2008 – Roy Page *2009 – Lysle Johnston *2010 – Jack Gottschalk *2011 – Dushanka Kleinman *2012 – Dominick P. DePaola *2013 – Sol Siverman *2014 – Marcia Boyd *2015 – Stanley Bergman *2022 – Domenick Zero *2023 – James Vaden

References

* ''Dental Summary'', A Journal of Practical Dentistry, v. 38 (public domain, 1918), L.P. Bethel, MD, DDS, editor. Ransom & Randolph, publisher {{DEFAULTSORT:Callahan, John Ross 1853 births 1918 deaths People from Hillsboro, Ohio 19th-century American dentists