The richly creative, busy, and useful life of Dr. John B. Hickam was cut short by his untimely death in Chicago, February 9, 1970, following rupture of a cerebral aneurysm. He was Professor and Chairman of the Department of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine and when fatally stricken, was in Chicago attending the AMA Congress on Medical Education, where he was to have delivered a paper on "Periodic Recertification."He made numerous and far-reaching contributions to medical science and education and had achieved a well deserved national and international reputation.
He is survived by his widow, Mary Kennedy Hickam, a daughter, Helen K. Hickam, and a son, Tom B. Hickam, of Indianapolis.
Born in the Philippine Islands, August 10, 1914, he was the son of one of the country's military aviation pioneers, the late Colonel Horace Hickam, for whom Hickam Field in Honolulu, Hawaii, was named.
He was graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University in 1936 and cum laude from Harvard University School of Medicine in 1940, then served as an intern and senior house officer in medicine at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital before going to Grady Hospital in Atlanta as a resident in medicine. He entered the U. S. Army in 1943 and was assigned to the Army Air Corps Laboratory at Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio, where he helped in the development of the Aeromedical Laboratory.
After discharge in 1946, he returned to Emory University as an instructor but moved to Duke University School of Medicine a year later when his long-time mentor and devoted friend, Dr. Eugene A. Stead, became chairman of the department of medicine there. He played an important role in the growth and development of medicine at Duke, reaching the rank of professor in 1957. A year later, he moved to Indianapolis as chairman of the department of medicine, a position he held until his death.
Under his broadminded and far-sighted direction, the department of medicine grew rapidly, not only in numbers but also in talent, influence, and impact on the medical community, while Indiana University School of Medicine became one of the country's largest.
His accomplishments in administration, education and research were many and important. He was widely known for his original research on pulmonary function in heart and lung disease and made a special contribution to knowledge of the retinal circulation through retinal photography. He directed the school's Heart, Research Center, funded by a multimillion dollar program-project grant, and was the principal investigator for a U.S. Air Force contract which established an Indiana University cardiopulmonary research laboratory at Wright Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio.
He was a proponent of new approaches to medical education and was active in numerous organizations working in this field, both in Indiana and other parts of the country. He was secretary-treasurer of the American Board of Internal Medicine and a member of the executive committee of the National Board of Medical Examiners. He was a member of the Indiana University School of Medicine faculty group that developed a new medical curriculum termed one of the most innovative and promising in the United States. His belief that health care delivery must be improved by strengthening graduate training programs within the state was influential in development of the "Indiana Plan" for medical education. He was the prime mover and director of the Regenstrief Foundation for Research in Health Care associated with Indiana University Medical Center and Marion County General Hospital.
Dr. Hickman wrote about 75 articles for medical journals, most of them reporting results of his own original research, and several chapters in Cecil-Loeb Textbook of Medicine. He had been on Editorial Boards of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Annals of Internal Medicine, Circulation, and American Review of Respiratory Disease, the latter two at the time of his death. He was in great demand as a lecturer and visiting professor. He gave the George E. Brown Memorial Lecture at the meeting of the American Heart Association in 1964.
His honors and awards were many and varied. He was president of the Central Society for Clinical Research, secretary of the Association of American Physicians, past, president of the Association of Professors of Medicine, a director of the Thomas A. Edison Foundation, and he had held offices in several other professional organizations. He had been a member of the Cardiovascular Study Section and the NIH National Advisory Heart Council. He was a member of the U.S.P.H.S. Surgeon General's Advisory Committee on Smoking and Health which, after extensive study, wrote the report entitled Smoking and Health published in 1964. He was also a member of the AMA-ERF Committee for Research on Tobacco and Health which awards grants for research on the relationship between smoking and health.
Dr. Hickam was a fellow of the American College of Physicians, diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine and a member of several other organizations, in addition to those mentioned before, including Phi Beta Kappa, Alpha Omega Alpha, American Federation for Clinical Research, American Physiological Society, American Society for Clinical Investigation, American Thoracic Society, American Clinical and Climatological Association, American Medical Association, American College of Cardiology, American College of Clinical Pharmacology and Chemotherapy, and Southern Society for Clinical Research.
John Hickam had an unobtrusive quality of leadership that invariably surfaced in every group with which he was associated. He had the rare combination of talents for research and teaching and administration, the key being his astute mind, his indomitable will, his warm heart, and his humble spirit. His was an administrative ability that could organize and execute fairly, judiciously, diplomatically, tactfully. He patiently dealt with the problems of his students, patients, and colleagues and was never too busy to listen.
To know him and work with him was a real privilege and a not-to-be-forgotten experience.
He was truly one of the great men in American medicine.
C. Ross, M.D.
He is survived by his widow, Mary Kennedy Hickam, a daughter, Helen K. Hickam, and a son, Tom B. Hickam, of Indianapolis.
Born in the Philippine Islands, August 10, 1914, he was the son of one of the country's military aviation pioneers, the late Colonel Horace Hickam, for whom Hickam Field in Honolulu, Hawaii, was named.
He was graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University in 1936 and cum laude from Harvard University School of Medicine in 1940, then served as an intern and senior house officer in medicine at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital before going to Grady Hospital in Atlanta as a resident in medicine. He entered the U. S. Army in 1943 and was assigned to the Army Air Corps Laboratory at Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio, where he helped in the development of the Aeromedical Laboratory.
After discharge in 1946, he returned to Emory University as an instructor but moved to Duke University School of Medicine a year later when his long-time mentor and devoted friend, Dr. Eugene A. Stead, became chairman of the department of medicine there. He played an important role in the growth and development of medicine at Duke, reaching the rank of professor in 1957. A year later, he moved to Indianapolis as chairman of the department of medicine, a position he held until his death.
Under his broadminded and far-sighted direction, the department of medicine grew rapidly, not only in numbers but also in talent, influence, and impact on the medical community, while Indiana University School of Medicine became one of the country's largest.
His accomplishments in administration, education and research were many and important. He was widely known for his original research on pulmonary function in heart and lung disease and made a special contribution to knowledge of the retinal circulation through retinal photography. He directed the school's Heart, Research Center, funded by a multimillion dollar program-project grant, and was the principal investigator for a U.S. Air Force contract which established an Indiana University cardiopulmonary research laboratory at Wright Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio.
He was a proponent of new approaches to medical education and was active in numerous organizations working in this field, both in Indiana and other parts of the country. He was secretary-treasurer of the American Board of Internal Medicine and a member of the executive committee of the National Board of Medical Examiners. He was a member of the Indiana University School of Medicine faculty group that developed a new medical curriculum termed one of the most innovative and promising in the United States. His belief that health care delivery must be improved by strengthening graduate training programs within the state was influential in development of the "Indiana Plan" for medical education. He was the prime mover and director of the Regenstrief Foundation for Research in Health Care associated with Indiana University Medical Center and Marion County General Hospital.
Dr. Hickman wrote about 75 articles for medical journals, most of them reporting results of his own original research, and several chapters in Cecil-Loeb Textbook of Medicine. He had been on Editorial Boards of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Annals of Internal Medicine, Circulation, and American Review of Respiratory Disease, the latter two at the time of his death. He was in great demand as a lecturer and visiting professor. He gave the George E. Brown Memorial Lecture at the meeting of the American Heart Association in 1964.
His honors and awards were many and varied. He was president of the Central Society for Clinical Research, secretary of the Association of American Physicians, past, president of the Association of Professors of Medicine, a director of the Thomas A. Edison Foundation, and he had held offices in several other professional organizations. He had been a member of the Cardiovascular Study Section and the NIH National Advisory Heart Council. He was a member of the U.S.P.H.S. Surgeon General's Advisory Committee on Smoking and Health which, after extensive study, wrote the report entitled Smoking and Health published in 1964. He was also a member of the AMA-ERF Committee for Research on Tobacco and Health which awards grants for research on the relationship between smoking and health.
Dr. Hickam was a fellow of the American College of Physicians, diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine and a member of several other organizations, in addition to those mentioned before, including Phi Beta Kappa, Alpha Omega Alpha, American Federation for Clinical Research, American Physiological Society, American Society for Clinical Investigation, American Thoracic Society, American Clinical and Climatological Association, American Medical Association, American College of Cardiology, American College of Clinical Pharmacology and Chemotherapy, and Southern Society for Clinical Research.
John Hickam had an unobtrusive quality of leadership that invariably surfaced in every group with which he was associated. He had the rare combination of talents for research and teaching and administration, the key being his astute mind, his indomitable will, his warm heart, and his humble spirit. His was an administrative ability that could organize and execute fairly, judiciously, diplomatically, tactfully. He patiently dealt with the problems of his students, patients, and colleagues and was never too busy to listen.
To know him and work with him was a real privilege and a not-to-be-forgotten experience.
He was truly one of the great men in American medicine.
C. Ross, M.D.
The richly creative, busy, and useful life of Dr. John B. Hickam was cut short by his untimely death in Chicago, February 9, 1970, following rupture of a cerebral aneurysm. He was Professor and Chairman of the Department of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine and when fatally stricken, was in Chicago attending the AMA Congress on Medical Education, where he was to have delivered a paper on "Periodic Recertification."He made numerous and far-reaching contributions to medical science and education and had achieved a well deserved national and international reputation.
He is survived by his widow, Mary Kennedy Hickam, a daughter, Helen K. Hickam, and a son, Tom B. Hickam, of Indianapolis.
Born in the Philippine Islands, August 10, 1914, he was the son of one of the country's military aviation pioneers, the late Colonel Horace Hickam, for whom Hickam Field in Honolulu, Hawaii, was named.
He was graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University in 1936 and cum laude from Harvard University School of Medicine in 1940, then served as an intern and senior house officer in medicine at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital before going to Grady Hospital in Atlanta as a resident in medicine. He entered the U. S. Army in 1943 and was assigned to the Army Air Corps Laboratory at Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio, where he helped in the development of the Aeromedical Laboratory.
After discharge in 1946, he returned to Emory University as an instructor but moved to Duke University School of Medicine a year later when his long-time mentor and devoted friend, Dr. Eugene A. Stead, became chairman of the department of medicine there. He played an important role in the growth and development of medicine at Duke, reaching the rank of professor in 1957. A year later, he moved to Indianapolis as chairman of the department of medicine, a position he held until his death.
Under his broadminded and far-sighted direction, the department of medicine grew rapidly, not only in numbers but also in talent, influence, and impact on the medical community, while Indiana University School of Medicine became one of the country's largest.
His accomplishments in administration, education and research were many and important. He was widely known for his original research on pulmonary function in heart and lung disease and made a special contribution to knowledge of the retinal circulation through retinal photography. He directed the school's Heart, Research Center, funded by a multimillion dollar program-project grant, and was the principal investigator for a U.S. Air Force contract which established an Indiana University cardiopulmonary research laboratory at Wright Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio.
He was a proponent of new approaches to medical education and was active in numerous organizations working in this field, both in Indiana and other parts of the country. He was secretary-treasurer of the American Board of Internal Medicine and a member of the executive committee of the National Board of Medical Examiners. He was a member of the Indiana University School of Medicine faculty group that developed a new medical curriculum termed one of the most innovative and promising in the United States. His belief that health care delivery must be improved by strengthening graduate training programs within the state was influential in development of the "Indiana Plan" for medical education. He was the prime mover and director of the Regenstrief Foundation for Research in Health Care associated with Indiana University Medical Center and Marion County General Hospital.
Dr. Hickman wrote about 75 articles for medical journals, most of them reporting results of his own original research, and several chapters in Cecil-Loeb Textbook of Medicine. He had been on Editorial Boards of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Annals of Internal Medicine, Circulation, and American Review of Respiratory Disease, the latter two at the time of his death. He was in great demand as a lecturer and visiting professor. He gave the George E. Brown Memorial Lecture at the meeting of the American Heart Association in 1964.
His honors and awards were many and varied. He was president of the Central Society for Clinical Research, secretary of the Association of American Physicians, past, president of the Association of Professors of Medicine, a director of the Thomas A. Edison Foundation, and he had held offices in several other professional organizations. He had been a member of the Cardiovascular Study Section and the NIH National Advisory Heart Council. He was a member of the U.S.P.H.S. Surgeon General's Advisory Committee on Smoking and Health which, after extensive study, wrote the report entitled Smoking and Health published in 1964. He was also a member of the AMA-ERF Committee for Research on Tobacco and Health which awards grants for research on the relationship between smoking and health.
Dr. Hickam was a fellow of the American College of Physicians, diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine and a member of several other organizations, in addition to those mentioned before, including Phi Beta Kappa, Alpha Omega Alpha, American Federation for Clinical Research, American Physiological Society, American Society for Clinical Investigation, American Thoracic Society, American Clinical and Climatological Association, American Medical Association, American College of Cardiology, American College of Clinical Pharmacology and Chemotherapy, and Southern Society for Clinical Research.
John Hickam had an unobtrusive quality of leadership that invariably surfaced in every group with which he was associated. He had the rare combination of talents for research and teaching and administration, the key being his astute mind, his indomitable will, his warm heart, and his humble spirit. His was an administrative ability that could organize and execute fairly, judiciously, diplomatically, tactfully. He patiently dealt with the problems of his students, patients, and colleagues and was never too busy to listen.
To know him and work with him was a real privilege and a not-to-be-forgotten experience.
He was truly one of the great men in American medicine.
C. Ross, M.D.
He is survived by his widow, Mary Kennedy Hickam, a daughter, Helen K. Hickam, and a son, Tom B. Hickam, of Indianapolis.
Born in the Philippine Islands, August 10, 1914, he was the son of one of the country's military aviation pioneers, the late Colonel Horace Hickam, for whom Hickam Field in Honolulu, Hawaii, was named.
He was graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University in 1936 and cum laude from Harvard University School of Medicine in 1940, then served as an intern and senior house officer in medicine at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital before going to Grady Hospital in Atlanta as a resident in medicine. He entered the U. S. Army in 1943 and was assigned to the Army Air Corps Laboratory at Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio, where he helped in the development of the Aeromedical Laboratory.
After discharge in 1946, he returned to Emory University as an instructor but moved to Duke University School of Medicine a year later when his long-time mentor and devoted friend, Dr. Eugene A. Stead, became chairman of the department of medicine there. He played an important role in the growth and development of medicine at Duke, reaching the rank of professor in 1957. A year later, he moved to Indianapolis as chairman of the department of medicine, a position he held until his death.
Under his broadminded and far-sighted direction, the department of medicine grew rapidly, not only in numbers but also in talent, influence, and impact on the medical community, while Indiana University School of Medicine became one of the country's largest.
His accomplishments in administration, education and research were many and important. He was widely known for his original research on pulmonary function in heart and lung disease and made a special contribution to knowledge of the retinal circulation through retinal photography. He directed the school's Heart, Research Center, funded by a multimillion dollar program-project grant, and was the principal investigator for a U.S. Air Force contract which established an Indiana University cardiopulmonary research laboratory at Wright Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio.
He was a proponent of new approaches to medical education and was active in numerous organizations working in this field, both in Indiana and other parts of the country. He was secretary-treasurer of the American Board of Internal Medicine and a member of the executive committee of the National Board of Medical Examiners. He was a member of the Indiana University School of Medicine faculty group that developed a new medical curriculum termed one of the most innovative and promising in the United States. His belief that health care delivery must be improved by strengthening graduate training programs within the state was influential in development of the "Indiana Plan" for medical education. He was the prime mover and director of the Regenstrief Foundation for Research in Health Care associated with Indiana University Medical Center and Marion County General Hospital.
Dr. Hickman wrote about 75 articles for medical journals, most of them reporting results of his own original research, and several chapters in Cecil-Loeb Textbook of Medicine. He had been on Editorial Boards of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Annals of Internal Medicine, Circulation, and American Review of Respiratory Disease, the latter two at the time of his death. He was in great demand as a lecturer and visiting professor. He gave the George E. Brown Memorial Lecture at the meeting of the American Heart Association in 1964.
His honors and awards were many and varied. He was president of the Central Society for Clinical Research, secretary of the Association of American Physicians, past, president of the Association of Professors of Medicine, a director of the Thomas A. Edison Foundation, and he had held offices in several other professional organizations. He had been a member of the Cardiovascular Study Section and the NIH National Advisory Heart Council. He was a member of the U.S.P.H.S. Surgeon General's Advisory Committee on Smoking and Health which, after extensive study, wrote the report entitled Smoking and Health published in 1964. He was also a member of the AMA-ERF Committee for Research on Tobacco and Health which awards grants for research on the relationship between smoking and health.
Dr. Hickam was a fellow of the American College of Physicians, diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine and a member of several other organizations, in addition to those mentioned before, including Phi Beta Kappa, Alpha Omega Alpha, American Federation for Clinical Research, American Physiological Society, American Society for Clinical Investigation, American Thoracic Society, American Clinical and Climatological Association, American Medical Association, American College of Cardiology, American College of Clinical Pharmacology and Chemotherapy, and Southern Society for Clinical Research.
John Hickam had an unobtrusive quality of leadership that invariably surfaced in every group with which he was associated. He had the rare combination of talents for research and teaching and administration, the key being his astute mind, his indomitable will, his warm heart, and his humble spirit. His was an administrative ability that could organize and execute fairly, judiciously, diplomatically, tactfully. He patiently dealt with the problems of his students, patients, and colleagues and was never too busy to listen.
To know him and work with him was a real privilege and a not-to-be-forgotten experience.
He was truly one of the great men in American medicine.
C. Ross, M.D.
Gravesite Details
burial: FEB 12,1970; (Moved 1-16-1998)
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