(Aug. 10, 1914-Feb. 9, 1970). Physician, medical investigator, educator, and administrator, John Bamber Hickam was the son of Colonel Horace M. Hickam, for whom Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, was named. Born in Manila in the Philippine Islands, Hickam graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University in 1936 and received his M.D. degree cum laude from Harvard in 1940. He had an internship and medical residency at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston and an additional residency at Emory University. He joined the medical faculty of Duke University in 1947, where he remained until he was appointed professor and chairman of the Department of Medicine at in 1958.
Hickam was widely known for his original research on pulmonary function in heart and lung disease. He published extensively, wrote several chapters in the leading , and was one of the authors of the 1964 Surgeon General’s “Report on Smoking and Health.” He was president of the Central Society for Clinical Research, president of the Association of Professors of Medicine, trustee of the Thomas A. Edison Foundation, and a member and officer of many other national organizations. As chairman of the Department of Medicine, he greatly expanded the faculty research and teaching of medical students and resident physicians. An outstanding administrator with a probing intellect, he helped the department achieve a top rank among the nation’s medical schools.
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