Hugh Jackson "Buddy" Morgan (1893–1961) was a world-renowned internist and medical professor, who served as Chair of the Department of Medicine at the

Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Vanderbilt University School of Medicine is a graduate medical school of Vanderbilt University located in Nashville, Tennessee. Located in the Vanderbilt University Medical Center on the southeastern side of the Vanderbilt University campus, the S ...

from 1935 to 1959, President of the

American College of Physicians The American College of Physicians (ACP) is a national organization of internists, who specialize in the diagnosis, treatment, and care of adults.Sokanu "What is an Internist?" Retrieved October 20, 2014 With 161,000 members, ACP is the largest ...

, and Chief Medical Consultant to the

Surgeon General of the United States Army The Surgeon General of the United States Army is the senior-most officer of the U.S. Army Medical Department (AMEDD). By policy, the Surgeon General (TSG) serves as Commanding General, U.S. Army Medical Command (MEDCOM) as well as head of the ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In his youth he was an accomplished

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

player.

Early life and education

Hugh Jackson Morgan was born into a prominent

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

family in 1893 and graduated from

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

in 1914. The Jackson family's ancestral home,

Forks of Cypress The Forks of Cypress was a large slave-labour cotton farm and Greek Revival plantation house near Florence in Lauderdale County, Alabama. It was designed by architect William Nichols for James Jackson and his wife, Sally Moore Jackson. Constr ...

, remains a landmark in

Florence, Alabama Florence is a city in, and the county seat of, Lauderdale County, Alabama, United States, in the state's northwestern corner. It is situated along the Tennessee River and is home to the University of North Alabama, the oldest college in the st ...

. A scholar and athlete, he was a prominent member of the Vanderbilt varsity football team and was selected as an All Southern

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

.e.g. Morgan played on the

1911 A notable ongoing event was the Comparison of the Amundsen and Scott Expeditions, race for the South Pole. Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory ...

and

1912 Events January * January 1 – The Republic of China (1912–49), Republic of China is established. * January 5 – The Prague Conference (6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) opens. * January 6 ...

SIAA championship teams. He was nominated though not selected for an ''Associated Press'' All-Time Southeast 1869-1919 era team.

Academia

After two years at Vanderbilt Medical School, he transferred to

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

and received his doctorate in 1918. As a medical student, Dr. Morgan served in the prestigious Hopkins unit during World War I, and was stationed primarily in France. After the war, Dr. Morgan professed at both Hopkins and the Rockefeller Institute before returning home to Nashville in 1925 to accept an offered position as Associate Professor of Medicine. Dr. Morgan became Chair of the Department of Medicine in 1935.

World War II

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Dr. Morgan entered the U.S. Army as a

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

, appointed Chief Medical Consultant to the Surgeon General. This position entailed the clinical oversight and direction of field military medical personnel in all four theaters of the war.

Legacy

A former colleague wrote of Dr. Morgan, "He was a charming man with firm convictions. He was courteous, gallant, and had a warm twinkling humor. He was delicately sensitive to and careful of the smallest human weaknesses and respected the well-grounded opinions of others." Dr. Hugh Morgan's contributions to Vanderbilt and the U.S. Army were many. Dr. Morgan is honored namesake of multiple chairs and endowments, most notably the Hugh J Morgan Chair in Medicine. Hugh J. Morgan died in his Nashville, Tennessee home in 1961 of cancer. Dr. Morgan's son-in-law was prominent cancer researcher

Lloyd Saxon Graham Lloyd Saxon Graham (January 14, 1922 – May 19, 2012) was an American epidemiologist. Born in Buffalo, New York, Graham completed undergraduate training at Amherst College and earned his PhD from Yale University in 1951. As Chair of the Departme ...

. Dr. Morgan's son, Hugh J. Morgan Jr, is a former chairman of

Sonat Sonat, Inc., headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, was a large Fortune 500 American energy holding company. The company was founded in 1928 and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "SNT". Sonat was primarily involved ...

; Dr. Morgan's son Robert P. Morgan is a composer and music theorist on the faculty of

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

References

External links

Generals of World War II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Hugh Jackson Players of American football from Nashville, Tennessee 1893 births 1961 deaths Vanderbilt Commodores football players All-Southern college football players American football centers United States Army Medical Corps officers United States Army generals of World War II United States Army generals