William John Wells SHARRARD1921–2001

Who’s Who in Orthopedics give his full attention and time to encourage their research and promote their careers.

With the decline in poliomyelitis he turned his attention to cerebral palsy. He clarified the mech- anism of the deformity and the origin of contrac- tures, and developed guidelines for the prevention and treatment of these complications. The large number of patients with myelomeningocele and varying degrees of paralysis of the lower limb who had survived as a result of early closure of the spinal lesion presented another problem. A special clinic had to be established for the ortho- pedic management of these children, who often required multiple operations for their deformities.

John Sharrard’s enormous experience in this field led to another thesis, for which he was awarded ChM with commendation.

In addition to his commitments to the National Health Service and a large private practice, John traveled widely as visiting professor and as an invited lecturer to cities in North and South America, South Africa, Europe and the Middle East. At home he was Hunterian Professor, Robert Jones Lecturer, Arris & Gale Lecturer and Joseph Henry Lecturer of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. He served two full terms on the Council of the College. In 1962, he founded the Orthopedic Research Society and was its presi- dent until 1964. He was president of the British Orthopedic Association in 1978–1979. He was an enthusiastic member of SICOT and served as the UK national delegate, European vice president and president of the Triennial Congress held in London in 1984. His fluency in French was a considerable advantage when for many years he presided over the Monospecialist Committee in Orthopedic Surgery to the European Union, and as president (and founder) of the European Pediatric Orthopedic Society.

He still found time to publish well over 100 papers mainly concerned with paralysis in children, and more than 30 chapters in books.

His magnum opus was his book Paediatric

1971, which ran to three editions. The last of these was completed in 1993, after retirement, and required the review of 2,500 new papers on the subject.

In 1985, the University of Sheffield, rather belatedly, awarded him an associate professorship.

It is not unusual for very high achievers to be multifaceted. John was a talented musician, able to perform on the violin, organ, and particularly

William John Wells SHARRARD

1921–2001

William John Wells Sharrard was one of the out- standing orthopedic surgeons of his generation.

He came from a medical family. His mother had a glittering career in the Sheffield Medical School.

After education at Westminster School, where he was a King’s Scholar, he entered the medical school in Sheffield in 1939, and graduated with honors in 1944. His first appointment as house surgeon to Frank Holdsworth was the start of a lifelong addiction to orthopedics. After a lecture- ship in anatomy and a period in the Royal Air Force, he completed his training at the Royal National Orthopedic Hospital. It was during this time, as lecturer to Professor Herbert Seddon, that he concluded his painstaking and brilliant study of the pattern of cell destruction in the spinal cord in poliomyelitis. For his thesis on this subject, he was awarded an MD with distinction.

He returned to Sheffield in 1955 as a consult-

ant, working with Holdsworth at the Royal Infir-

mary and the Children’s Hospital. The workload

was enormous, and as Holdsworth had limited

time to give to pediatrics, John Sharrard began to

develop what was to become an internationally

respected center for orthopedics at the Children’s

Hospital. His industry was awesome, his stamina

prodigious, and his sense of time appalling. He

needed little sleep and habitually worked until the

early hours. New registrars were astonished to be

telephoned at 2 or 3 a.m. to discuss the operating

list for the next day! He would, however, always

on the piano. He said that he once, very nearly, joined a well-known dance band instead of doing medicine! Thankfully, he changed his mind.

He died in Sheffield on 31 March 2001 after a stroke and a disabling illness lasting 2 years. He leaves his wife Peta, and two sons, and a son and daughter from his first marriage.

place of orthopedic surgery in the medical school curriculum.

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Who’s Who in Orthopedics

David SILVER

1873–1946

David Silver was born in Wellsville, Ohio, March 16, 1873, the son of David Silver and Nancy Elizabeth Hammond Silver. He was graduated from Exeter Academy and Harvard University.

After he had received his degree of Doctor of Medicine from Harvard Medical School in 1899, he did postgraduate work in Germany and Austria until 1901. Soon after his return to the United States, he entered upon his practice in Pittsburgh.

He actually established orthopedic surgery in Pittsburgh, and achieved outstanding success in this field.

Dr. Silver was professor of orthopedic surgery at the University of Pittsburgh for many years, and later was professor emeritus. He was head of the orthopedic department of the Allegheny General Hospital, Pittsburgh, for 30 years. From the time of its establishment in 1919 until 1944, he was in charge of the D.T. Watson Home for Crippled Children at Leetsdale, Pennsylvania. He was consulting orthopedic surgeon at the Chil- dren’s Hospital, Pittsburgh Hospital, and the Industrial Home for Crippled Children. He was orthopedic consultant for the United States Army during World War I, in the Surgeon General’s office.

Harry M. SHERMAN

1854–1921

Harry Sherman was clinical professor of orthope-

dic surgery in the medical department of the Uni-

versity of California. Elected to the American

Orthopedic Association in 1889, he became one

of its most active members and in 1900 was

elected president. An original thinker, a brilliant

surgeon and an honest seeker after truth, he

refused to accept the current methods of treat-

ment. He was one of the first to advocate early

operation in tuberculosis of the hip (1893)

because of the slow unsatisfactory course of cases

treated conservatively. He practiced excision of

the knee in children and took care to conserve the

epiphysial cartilage (1897). He had the courage

to report unsatisfactory results with the Lorenz

reduction of congenital hip dislocation at a time

when other orthopedic surgeons were lavish in

their praise of the method. His presidential

address was devoted to the same theme as that

of his modern successor, Le Roy Abbott—the