James Ewing (pathologist) - Life

Life

James Ewing, was born in 1866 to a prominent family of Pittsburgh. He first completed his M.A. in 1888 New International Encyclopedia at Amherst College and then studied medicine at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New York, from 1888 to 1891. While a student, he was tutored by Francis Delafield (1841-1915), Theophil Mitchell Prudden (1849-1924) and Alexander Kolisko (1857-1918), and developed a strong interest in pathology. He returned to the College of Physicians and Surgeons as instructor in histology (1893-1897), and clinical pathology (1897-1898). After a brief stint as a surgeon with the US Army, Ewing was appointed in 1899 the first professor of clinical pathology at the Medical College of Cornell University in New York. His research activities on experimental cancer were mostly pursued at the Loomis Laboratory for Research in Experimental Pathology, together with the New York Memorial Hospital. In 1902, Dr. Ewing helped to establish one of the first funds for cancer research, endowed by P. Huntington. With his discoveries, Ewing became the most important experimental oncologist and helped to found, in 1907, the American Association for Cancer Research, and in 1913, the American Society for the Control of Cancer, now the American Cancer Society. In 1931 Ewing was elected to the presidency of the Medical Board of the General Memorial Hospital for the Treatment of Cancer and Allied Diseases, and became also its director or research. He was also responsible for the creation of present-day Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, one of the most important multidisciplinary centers devoted to oncology in the world. He worked at the Memorial until his retirement, in 1939. In 1908 he was president of the Harvey Society.

James Ewing died from bladder cancer at the age of 76.