Marshall Miller Parks (July 6, 1918 – July 25, 2005) was an American

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...

known to many as "the father of

pediatric ophthalmology Pediatric ophthalmology is a sub-specialty of ophthalmology concerned with eye diseases, visual development, and vision care in children. Training In the United States, pediatric ophthalmologists are physicians who have completed medical school, ...

".Joe Holley
"D.C. Physician Illuminated The Ailments of Young Eyes."
''Washington Post''. Sunday, August 21, 2005; Page C11.

Early life

Parks was born in

Old Mission, Michigan Old Mission is an unincorporated community in Grand Traverse County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The community is located within Peninsula Township, and is located about south of the tip of the Old Mission Peninsula, along the shore of the E ...

to Ruth E. and Reuben Elvin Parks. In 1939, he earned a BS from

Illinois College Illinois College is a private liberal arts college in Jacksonville, Illinois. It is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and the Presbyterian Church (USA). It was the second college founded in Illinois but the first to grant a degree (in ...

and in 1943 graduated from the

Saint Louis University School of Medicine Saint Louis University School of Medicine is a private school, private, Jesuit medical school. Part of Saint Louis University, the institution was established in 1836. The school has an enrollment of around 700, with about 550 faculty members and ...

. His success in medical school gained him induction into

Alpha Omega Alpha Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society () is an honor society in the field of medicine. It has active chapters in 132 Liaison Committee on Medical Education, LCME-accredited medical schools in the United States and Lebanon. It annually elects ove ...

Society. During World War II, Parks served as a medical officer on

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

s in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

, including the USS ''Gamble'' and USS ''Terror'' during the battle of

Iwo Jima is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands, which lie south of the Bonin Islands and together with them make up the Ogasawara Subprefecture, Ogasawara Archipelago. Together with the Izu Islands, they make up Japan's Nanpō Islands. Although sout ...

Professional career

Parks studied under the guidance of Frank D. Costenbader, the first ophthalmologist to dedicate his practice solely to the care of children.Marshall MM
"The History of the Costenbader Society: Costenbader's Challenges."
Accessed August 19, 2008. At Children's Hospital in Washington, D.C., now known as the

Children's National Medical Center Children's National Hospital (formerly Children's National Health System, DC Children's Hospital, Children's National Medical Center) is a freestanding, 323-bed, pediatric acute care children's hospital located in Washington, D.C. It is affili ...

, they began the first ophthalmology fellowship training program of any subspecialty. This evolved from the rotation of Heed Fellowship ophthalmologists who had trained with Costenbader for many years. The first Children's Hospital of Washington fellow was Leonard Apt in 1959. Parks' scientific contributions include: * Elucidation of monofixation syndrome * Description and refinement of numerous eye muscle surgical techniques, particularly the fornix incision approach to

strabismus surgery Strabismus surgery (also: ''extraocular muscle surgery'', ''eye muscle surgery'', or ''eye alignment surgery'') is surgery on the extraocular muscles to correct strabismus, the misalignment of the human eye, eyes. Strabismus surgery is a one-day ...

* Recognition of the benefits of very early

strabismus Strabismus is an eye disorder in which the eyes do not properly align with each other when looking at an object. The eye that is pointed at an object can alternate. The condition may be present occasionally or constantly. If present during a ...

correction (by age 1 year) * Innovation in surgical techniques for pediatric cataracts

Positions

From 1974 to 1975, Parks was the first president of the

American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus The American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (AAPOS) is an academic association of pediatric ophthalmologists and strabismus surgeons. The pediatric ophthalmology fellowships in the United States are accredited by the AAPOS. ...

, a professional association of which he was a founding member.American Academy of Ophthalmolog
"2004 Laureate Award: Marshall M. Parks, M.D."
Accessed August 19, 2008. In 1982, he was president of the

American Academy of Ophthalmology The American Academy of Ophthalmology is a professional association, professional medical association of ophthalmologists. It is headquartered in San Francisco, California. Its membership of 32,000 medical doctors includes more than 90 percent ...

. *Chairman, Department of Ophthalmology at the

Washington Hospital Center MedStar Washington Hospital Center is the largest private hospital in Washington, D.C. A member of MedStar Health, the not-for-profit Hospital Center is licensed for 926 beds. Health services in primary, secondary and tertiary care are offer ...

and the

Children’s National Medical Center Children's National Hospital (formerly Children's National Health System, DC Children's Hospital, Children's National Medical Center) is a freestanding, 323-bed, pediatric acute care children's hospital located in Washington, D.C. It is affili ...

*Founder, president and chairman of the board, Children’s Eye Care Foundation *Director and chairman,

American Board of Ophthalmology The American Board of Ophthalmology (ABO) is an independent, non-profit organization responsible for certifying ophthalmologists ( eye physicians and surgeons) in the United States of America. Founded in 1916, the ABO was the first American Bo ...

*Director and chairman of the board, Foundation of the

*Advisory Council for Ophthalmic Surgery of the

American College of Surgeons The American College of Surgeons (ACS) is a professional medical association for surgeons and surgical team members, founded in 1913. It claims more than 90,000 members in 144 countries. History The ACS was founded in 1913 as an outgrowth of ...

*Chairman, Scientific Committee of the Retina Foundation of the Southwest Editor / Assistant Editor *''

American Medical Association The American Medical Association (AMA) is an American professional association and lobbying group of physicians and medical students. This medical association was founded in 1847 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Membership was 271,660 ...

Archives of Ophthalmology An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials, in any medium, or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organi ...

'' *''Clinical Proceedings'' * ''Survey of Ophthalmology'' * ''American Orthoptic Journal''

Awards

*Founder of the Costenbader Society *Recipient of the

Lucien Howe Lucien Howe (September 18, 1848 – December 27, 1928) was an American physician who spent much of his career as a professor of ophthalmology at the University at Buffalo. In 1876 he was instrumental in the creation of the Buffalo Eye and Ear Inf ...

Medal from the

*Senior Honor Award from the

*Life Achievement Award and the Laureate Recognition Award 2004 from the

*Superior Public Service Award from the US Naval Department *John Carroll Society Medal *Best Ophthalmologist in America award from ''Ophthalmology Times'' *Leadership Award from The National Eye Care Foundation *Leslie Dana Gold Medal from the St. Louis Society for the Blind *Induction into the

Knights of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, and commonly known as the Order of Malta or the Knights of Malta, is a Catholic Church, Cathol ...

*Vicennial Medal from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

*Arthur Linksz Award from the International Strabismological Society *Professional Service Award, the Society for the Prevention of Blindness

Legacy

Perhaps Parks' greatest legacy are the 160 fellows he trained in

and

. Many of these former fellows have gone on to leadership positions within the field themselves. Dr. Kenneth Wright, a former Parks fellow and current director of Pediatric Ophthalmology Research and Education at

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a non-profit, Tertiary referral hospital, tertiary, 915-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science centre, academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars ...

in Los Angeles, published a tribute to Dr. Parks in the medical text Pediatric Ophthalmology & Strabismus, calling him “the driving force that has led to the development and maturation of our specialty, pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus.”

Family life

Parks and his late wife, Angeline Miller Parks, raised eleven children. Following the death of his first wife, Parks and Martha McSteen Parks married and resided in Washington, D.C. for 14 years prior to his death. He is a devout

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

References

External links

Obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parks, Marshall M 1918 births 2005 deaths People from Grand Traverse County, Michigan American ophthalmologists Illinois College alumni Saint Louis University alumni Pediatric ophthalmologists American pediatricians Physicians from Michigan 20th-century American physicians