THE MORNING AFTER his death on September 7, 1922, the following obituary ran in The Sun (Baltimore, MD)." Because Dr. William S. Halsted lived, the world is~ better a safer, a happier place in which to be. In hi deadl not only Baltimore but civilization as a whole, ha l stained a heavy 10'. He was one of the few men whO really count. Quiet, simple unostentatious except in the medical world, where he towered, a great and dominating figure, the full scope of his genius and the tremendous extent and value of his services to mankind were neither generally known nor generally appreciated." l

Dr. Halsted has become revered as one of the most influential and innovative surgeons in American medical history. The Johns Hopkins Hospital (Baltimore, MD) opened in 1889; shortly thereafter, Halsted arrived. He was appointed Chief of Surgery in 1892, a role he held until his death 30 years later. His collected writings fill two volumes that span the breadth of general surgery from breast cancer to inguinal hernia repair. He introduced the first, safe intestinal suture, was the first to ligate and excise a subclavian aneurysm, and made many contributions along with E. Theodor Kocher in the treatment of goiter. During a time in which speed and inattention to hemostasis were the rule, he developed the meticulous surgical technique that was the hallmark of his school and his pupils.