Marshall Miller Parks (July 6, 1918 – July 25, 2005) was an American

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgery, surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Followin ...

known to many as "the father of

pediatric ophthalmology Pediatric ophthalmology is a sub-speciality of ophthalmology concerned with eye diseases, visual development, and vision care in children. Training In the United States, pediatric ophthalmologists are physicians who have completed medical school, ...

".Joe Holley
"D.C. Physician Illuminated The Ailments of Young Eyes."
''Washington Post''. Sunday, August 21, 2005; Page C11.

Early life

Parks was born in

Old Mission, Michigan Old Mission is an unincorporated community in Grand Traverse County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located within Peninsula Township near the tip of Old Mission Peninsula along the shores of the East Arm of Grand Traverse Bay. As an unin ...

to Ruth E. and Reuben Elvin Parks. In 1939, he earned a BS from

Illinois College Illinois College is a private liberal arts college in Jacksonville, Illinois. It is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and the Presbyterian Church (USA). It was the second college founded in Illinois, but the first to grant a degree ( ...

and in 1943 graduated from the

Saint Louis University School of Medicine Saint Louis University School of Medicine is a private, Jesuit medical school. Part of Saint Louis University, the institution was established in 1836. The school has an enrollment of around 700, with about 550 faculty members and 550 residents in ...

. His success in medical school gained him induction into

Alpha Omega Alpha Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society () is an honor society in the field of medicine. Alpha Omega Alpha currently has active Chapters in 132 LCME- accredited medical schools in the United States and Lebanon. It annually elects over 4,000 new ...

Society. During World War II, Parks served as a medical officer on

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

s in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, including the USS ''Gamble'' and USS ''Terror'' during the battle of

Iwo Jima Iwo Jima (, also ), known in Japan as , is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands and lies south of the Bonin Islands. Together with other islands, they form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The highest point of Iwo Jima is Mount Suribachi at high. ...

Professional career

Parks studied under the guidance of Frank D. Costenbader, the first ophthalmologist to dedicate his practice solely to the care of children.Marshall MM
"The History of the Costenbader Society: Costenbader's Challenges."
Accessed August 19, 2008. At Children's Hospital in Washington, D.C., now known as the

Children's National Medical Center Children's National Hospital (formerly Children's National Health System, DC Children's Hospital, Children's National Medical Center) is a nationally ranked, freestanding, 323-bed, pediatric acute care children's hospital located in Washington D ...

, they began the first ophthalmology fellowship training program of any subspecialty. This evolved from the rotation of Heed Fellowship ophthalmologists who had trained with Costenbader for many years. The first Children's Hospital of Washington fellow was

Leonard Apt Leonard Apt (June 28, 1922 – February 1, 2013) was an American pediatrician and ophthalmologist. He was one of the first U.S. physicians to complete a fellowship in pediatric ophthalmology. Apt identified that povidone-iodine could be safety use ...

in 1959. Parks' scientific contributions include: * Elucidation of

monofixation syndrome Monofixation syndrome (MFS) (also: microtropia or microstrabismus) is an eye condition defined by less-than-perfect binocular vision In biology, binocular vision is a type of vision in which an animal has two eyes capable of facing the same dir ...

* Description and refinement of numerous eye muscle surgical techniques, particularly the fornix incision approach to

strabismus surgery Strabismus surgery (also: ''extraocular muscle surgery'', ''eye muscle surgery'', or ''eye alignment surgery'') is surgery on the extraocular muscles to correct strabismus, the misalignment of the eyes. Strabismus surgery is a one-day procedure ...

* Recognition of the benefits of very early

strabismus Strabismus is a vision disorder in which the eyes do not properly align with each other when looking at an object. The eye that is focused on an object can alternate. The condition may be present occasionally or constantly. If present during a ...

correction (by age 1 year) * Innovation in surgical techniques for pediatric cataracts

Positions

From 1974 to 1975, Parks was the first president of the

American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus The American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (AAPOS) is an academic association of pediatric ophthalmologists and strabismus surgeons. The pediatric ophthalmology fellowships in the United States are accredited by the AAPOS. ...

, a professional association of which he was a founding member.American Academy of Ophthalmolog
"2004 Laureate Award: Marshall M. Parks, M.D."
Accessed August 19, 2008. In 1982, he was president of the

American Academy of Ophthalmology The American Academy of Ophthalmology (Academy) is a professional medical association of ophthalmologists. It is headquartered in San Francisco, California. Its membership of 32,000 medical doctors includes more than 90 percent of practicing ...

. *Chairman, Department of Ophthalmology at the

Washington Hospital Center and the Children’s National Medical Center Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

*Founder, president and chairman of the board,

National Children’s Eye Care Foundation National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

*Director and chairman,

American Board of Ophthalmology The American Board of Ophthalmology (ABO) is an independent, non-profit organization responsible for certifying ophthalmologists (eye physicians and surgeons) in the United States of America. Founded in 1916, the ABO was the first American Boar ...

*Director and chairman of the board,

The Foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

*Advisory Council for Ophthalmic Surgery of the

American College of Surgeons The American College of Surgeons is an educational association of surgeons created in 1913.American College of Surgeons Online "What is the American College of Surgeons?"/ref> See also *American College of Physicians The American College o ...

*Chairman, Scientific Committee of the Retina Foundation of the Southwest Editor / Assistant Editor *

American Medical Association The American Medical Association (AMA) is a professional association and lobbying group of physicians and medical students. Founded in 1847, it is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Membership was approximately 240,000 in 2016. The AMA's state ...

Archives of Ophthalmology ''JAMA Ophthalmology'' (formerly ''Archives of Ophthalmology'') is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal covering all aspects of ophthalmology. The editor-in-chief is Neil M. Bressler (Johns Hopkins School of Medicine). It is published by the ...

*Clinical Proceedings *

Survey of Ophthalmology ''Survey of Ophthalmology'' is a review journal dedicated to publishing reviews of ophthalmological topics by established authorities in that particular field. It is a strictly refereed journal with a bi-monthly publication schedule. The procedure ...

* American Orthoptic Journal

Awards

*Founder of the Costenbader Society *Recipient of the

Lucien Howe Lucien Howe (September 18, 1848 – December 27, 1928) was an American physician who spent much of his career as a professor of ophthalmology at the University at Buffalo. In 1876 he was instrumental in the creation of the Buffalo Eye and Ear Infi ...

Medal from the

*Senior Honor Award from the

*Life Achievement Award and the Laureate Recognition Award 2004 from the

*Superior Public Service Award from the US Naval Department *John Carroll Society Medal *Best Ophthalmologist in America award from ''Ophthalmology Times'' *Leadership Award from The National Eye Care Foundation *Leslie Dana Gold Medal from the St. Louis Society for the Blind *Induction into the

Knights of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

*Vicennial Medal from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

*Arthur Linksz Award from the International Strabismological Society *Professional Service Award, the Society for the Prevention of Blindness

Legacy

Perhaps Parks' greatest legacy are the 160 fellows he trained in

and

. Many of these former fellows have gone on to leadership positions within the field themselves. Dr. Kenneth Wright, a former Parks fellow and current director of Pediatric Ophthalmology Research and Education at

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a nonprofit, tertiary, 886-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital employs a staff of over 2 ...

in Los Angeles, published a tribute to Dr. Parks in the medical text Pediatric Ophthalmology & Strabismus, calling him “the driving force that has led to the development and maturation of our specialty, pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus.”

Family life

Parks and his late wife, Angeline Miller Parks, raised eleven children. Following the death of his first wife, Parks and Martha McSteen Parks married and resided in Washington, D.C. for 14 years prior to his death. He is a devout

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

References

External links

Obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parks, Marshall M 1918 births 2005 deaths People from Grand Traverse County, Michigan American ophthalmologists Illinois College alumni Saint Louis University alumni Pediatric ophthalmologists American pediatricians Physicians from Michigan 20th-century American physicians