Mayo

a family of American surgeons.

William Worrall Mayo. Born May 31, 1819, in Manchester, England; died Mar. 6, 1911, in Rochester, Minn.

Mayo was educated as a chemist at Owens College in Manchester under J. Dalton. In 1845 he moved to the USA. He studied medicine in Lafayette, Ind., and received his M.D. in 1854 at the University of Missouri in St. Louis. In 1863 he became a surgeon in Rochester, where he founded St. Mary’s Hospital in 1883. Mayo, who is known for his works on abdominal surgery, was among the first physicians in the USA to use the microscope for medical diagnosis.

William James Mayo. Born June 29, 1861, in Le Sueur, Minn.; died July 28, 1939, in Rochester.

After graduating from the University of Michigan in 1883, Mayo became a surgeon at St. Mary’s Hospital, which was founded by his father, W. W. Mayo. In 1889 he and his brother C. H. Mayo founded a complex of clinics on the basis of St. Mary’s—now the world-famous Mayo Clinic. In 1915 the brothers established the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, which includes a medical school, a postgraduate training institute, and a number of research institutes.

Mayo’s principal works dealt with abdominal surgery and urology. He was the author of works on the philosophy and organization of medicine. He was president of the American Medical Association (1906–07) and the American Surgical Association (1913–14) and an honorary member of many scientific organizations in the USA and more than 20 other countries.

Charles Horace Mayo. Born July 19, 1865, in Rochester; died May 26, 1939, in Chicago.

Mayo received his medical education in Chicago (1888). In 1889 he became chief of surgery at the Mayo Clinic. From 1919 to 1936 he was a professor at the postgraduate training institute and medical school of the Mayo Foundation. He was chief consultant of the surgical service of the USA during World War I (1914–18) and brigadier general in the medical reserves. His principal works dealt with various problems of surgery (operations for goiter, ureter transplant, operations on the bile ducts) and with the organization and administration of medical centers. He was president of the American Medical Association (1916–17) and the American College of Surgeons (1914–15) and an honorary member of many societies in the USA and abroad.