Roswell Park (May 4, 1852 – February 15, 1914) was an American physician, best known for starting Gratwick Research Laboratory in 1898, which is now known as

Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center is a cancer research and treatment center located in Buffalo, New York. Founded by surgeon Roswell Park in 1898, the center was the first in the United States to specifically focus on cancer research. The ...

. In 1900, the Gratwick family of Buffalo helped to finance Park's laboratory with a $25,000 donation in memory of William Henry Gratwick, a patient of Park's. Park was also a professor of surgery at the

University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. The university was founded in 18 ...

Medical School and a surgeon at

Buffalo General Hospital John R. Oishei Children's Hospital (viewed from Ellicott Street in 2017) Kaleida Health, founded in 1998, is a not-for-profit healthcare network that manages five hospitals in the Buffalo-Niagara Falls metropolitan area. Prior to the merger of ...

.Mirand, Dr. Edwin A., ''Legacy and History of Roswell Park Cancer Institute 1898–1998''. Virginia Beach, VA: The Donning Company Publishers p. 15 When Park was thirty-one, he went to

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

in 1883. He came from Chicago where he received his Doctor of Medicine degree from Northwestern University in 1876. He received his B.A. in 1872 and M.A. in 1875 from

Racine College Racine College was an Episcopal preparatory school and college in Racine, Wisconsin, that operated between 1852 and 1933. Located south of the city along Lake Michigan, the campus has been maintained and is today known as the DeKoven Center ...

in Racine, Wisconsin. He then went on to finish his

Doctor of Medicine Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...

studies at the

Northwestern University School of Medicine Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine is the Medical school in the United States, medical school of Northwestern University and is located in the Streeterville neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1859, Feinberg offers a f ...

in 1876. Park received an honorary M.A. from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

in 1895 and an honorary LL.D. from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

. Over the years he served on many boards, both national and international. By 1914, the total number of textbooks, articles, and monographs that he wrote reached 167.

President McKinley assassination

Buffalo was the host of the

Pan-American Exposition The Pan-American Exposition was a World's Fair held in Buffalo, New York, United States, from May 1 through November 2, 1901. The fair occupied of land on the western edge of what is now Delaware Park, extending from Delaware Avenue to Elmwood A ...

in 1901. That September, President

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...

, not even a year into his second term, was giving a speech at the

Temple of Music The Temple of Music was a concert hall and auditorium built for the Pan-American Exposition which was held in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, New York (state), New York in 1901. President of the United States, United States President William McKinley ...

on the Exposition grounds when

Leon Czolgosz Leon Frank Czolgosz ( , ; May 5, 1873 – October 29, 1901) was an American laborer and anarchist who assassinated President William McKinley on September 6, 1901, in Buffalo, New York. The president died on September 14 after his wound became ...

came from the crowd and shot him twice at point-blank range. McKinley was taken to a hospital on the fairgrounds. It took nearly 40 minutes for the first surgeon to show up. Herman Mynter, a general surgeon from Buffalo, was the first to diagnose the president. Not long after Mynter's examination was finished,

Matthew Derbyshire Mann Matthew Derbyshire Mann (July 12, 1845 – March 2, 1921) was an American gynecologist and one of the surgeons who operated on President William McKinley after he was shot on the grounds of the Pan American Exposition on September 6 ...

arrived. After the two talked, it was agreed upon to perform the abdominal exploration. President McKinley agreed to the exploration. Work was done by Mann to try to find the bullet and treat the wounds. Efforts were made to contact Park, but he was in the middle of a neck dissection at Niagara Falls Memorial Hospital. As described years later by Park's son, the messenger ran into the operation room and told Park that he was needed immediately.Lilli Sentz, ''Medical History in Buffalo 1846–1996''. Buffalo, NY: University at Buffalo Office of Publications p. 183 Park is claimed to have replied "Don't you see, I can't leave. I am in the middle of a case even if it were for the President of the United States?"; the messenger replied, "Doctor, it is for the President of the United States." Park proceeded to finish the operation. Despite the importance of the situation, Park was only able to get to the exposition hospital via a train. The train engine and coal car sent to Niagara Falls to pick him up and return to Buffalo held the record time between the two points at that time. The train was driven by Charles Meyers and was the only train allowed into the Pan Am. Meyers was known after that as Pan American Charlie. Once Park arrived, Mann was about to close up McKinley and asked Park if there should be any placement of drains. Park told Mann that he was the best man to make that decision given the scenario. Mann decided not to drain the abdomen since there was no excess blood or fluid around to be drained.Lilli Sentz, ''Medical History in Buffalo 1846–1996''. Buffalo, NY: University at Buffalo Office of Publications p. 184 Park arranged for some nurses from the exposition to look over McKinley at the Milburn home until nurses from the army could arrive. Despite some promising results McKinley died in the Milburn home.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Park, Roswell 1852 births 1914 deaths University at Buffalo faculty Rush Medical College Assassination of William McKinley Feinberg School of Medicine alumni Burials at Forest Lawn Cemetery (Buffalo)