Brief Chronology

  • 1909 --Born on June 7th, in Westfield, New Jersey
  • 1929 --AB from Mount Holyoke College
  • 1933 --MD from Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons (P & S)
  • 1933-35 --Surgery internship at Presbyterian Hospital
  • 1936 --Anesthesiology training course for nurses at Presbyterian Hospital
  • 1937 --Residencies in anesthesiology with Dr. Ralph Waters at University of Wisconsin, and with Dr. Emery Rovenstine at Bellevue Hospital in NYC
  • 1938 --Appointed Clinical Director of Division of Anesthesiology at Presbyterian Hospital; first woman to direct a division at that institution
  • 1949 --Appointed first full professor of anesthesiology at P & S; first woman to hold full professorship there
  • 1950-52 --Devised and tested scoring method to assess newborn viability immediately after birth, later known as "Apgar score"
  • 1953 --Published first article on the Apgar score
  • 1955-58 --Worked with L. Stanley James and Duncan Holaday to correlate score with effects of labor, delivery, and maternal anesthesia on newborns; developed new methods for measuring blood gases, blood levels of anesthesia, and blood pH in newborns
  • 1958-59 --Took sabbatical to earn Master of Public Health degree at Johns Hopkins
  • 1959 --Left P & S and Presbyterian Hospital to join executive medical staff at National Foundation-March of Dimes, as Chief of new Division of Congenital Malformations
  • 1964 --Received honorary D.Med.Sci. from Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania
  • 1965 --Received honorary doctorate from Mount Holyoke College
  • 1965-73 --Lecturer and clinical professor of pediatrics (teratology) at Cornell University College of Medicine. First to hold a faculty post in that subspecialty of pediatrics
  • 1966 --Received Distinguished Service Award from American Society of Anesthesiologists; received Elizabeth Blackwell Medal from American Medical Women's Association
  • 1967 --Received honorary doctorate from New Jersey College of Medicine and Dentistry
  • 1967-68 --Director of Basic Medical Research at National Foundation
  • 1971 --Appointed Vice President for Medical Affairs at National Foundation
  • 1972 --Published "Is My Baby All Right?" written with Joan Beck
  • 1973 --Received Alumni Gold Medal for Distinguished Achievement from P & S Alumni Association; elected Woman of the Year in Science by Ladies Home Journal; received Ralph Waters Award from American Society of Anesthesiologists
  • 1974 --Died August 7th, at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, of liver failure
  • 1994 --Honored on commemorative U.S. postage stamp
  • 1995 --Inducted into National Women's Hall of Fame