Physician, was born in Guernsey County,Ohio the son of John and Mary (Houseman) Fordyce of Scotch and German ancestry, respectively. He was educated at Adrian College, Adrian, Michigan where he received the degree of B.A. in 1878. Graduating in medicine from Northwestern University Medical College in 1881, he served as intern for the next two years in Cook County Hospital. From 1883 to 1886 he practiced medicine in Hot Springs, Arkansas, then gave up his practice and for three years studied in Europe. The major part of his time there was devoted to the study of Histo-pathology of the skin, under Moriz Kaposi (1837-1902), in Vienna, a part of his training which later profoundly influenced his writings. He was also a pupil of Lassar and of Behrend, and at the St. Louis Hospital of Paris studied under Ernest Henri Besnier, Jean Baptiste Emil Vidal and Jean Alfred Fournier. In 1888 he received his degree of M.D. from the University of Berlin. Returning to the United States in the same year Fordyce began the practice of medicine in New York City, specializing in dermatology and genito-urinary diseases. Within a few years his speciality became limited to dermatology and syphilology. From 1889 to1893 he was instructor and lecturer in the New York Polyclinic Hospital. He was then appointed professor of dermatology in Bellevue Hospital Medical College, where he remained for the next five years. In 1898, when New York University and Bellevue Hospital Medical College amalgamated, he accepted the position of professor of dermatology and syphilology in that institution. At this time (1898) the question arose whether patients having syphilis should be under the care of genito-urinary surgeons or of the dermatologists. More than to any one man, the credit is due to him for bringing clearly to the fore the advantages of having the treatment of syphilis in the hands of the dermatologist. In 1912 Fordyce accepted an invitation to become professor of dermatology and syphilology at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University and held that position until his death. Other hospital connections included that of visiting genito-urinary surgeon and later visiting dermatologist to the City Hospital from 1893 to 1925, and that of consulting dermatologist to the Presbyterian Hospital, Fifth Avenue Hospital, Woman's Hospital, New York Infirmary of Women and Children, and the Neurological Institute. He was also special consultant to the United States Public Health Service. He contributed well over one hundred authoritative articles to medical literature, and throughout his career was actively associated with American dermatological journals. As early as 1889 he became associated with Dr. P. A. Morrow, as editor of the Journal of Cutaneous and Genito-urinary Diseases (later Journal of Cutaneous Diseases, Including Syphilis and now the Archives of Dermatology and Syphilology). In 1892 he became sole editor of the journal, and though he resigned that position five years later, he retained a place on the editorial committee until 1920. In addition to his own research and writings, he did a great deal to stimulate original work by his contemporaries and associates. Probably one of his most important contributions to American medicine was his organization in spite of numerous difficulties -- of one of the best-known and best-equipped teaching centers of dermatology in the United States. Prior to this time, a man wishing to specialize in dermatology was forced to seek the necessary knowledge in clinics abroad. Fordyce was an indefatigable worker, and his tact and forceful personality attracted a group of men who with him constituted a brilliant staff, known throughout the world. He had the quality of leadership and was especially kind and lenient to younger men. Many of his pupils and associates are now prominent and successful specialists. Over one hundred and fifty postgraduate students received their training under his supervision. On June 29, 1886 Fordyce married Alice Dean Smith. They had two children. He was a member of the American Museum of Natural History, New York Zoological Society, New York Academy of Sciences, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Of several hobbies photography, probably, interested hi most. With Dr. George M. MacKee he photographed and arranged one of the most comprehensive collections of pictures of dermatological diseases in existence. His death in 1925 followed an operation for appendicitis.