Haymaker, Webb, 1902-1984

Neuropathologist, army officer, and chief of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology Neuropathology Section; b. Webb Edward Haymaker.

Biography

Webb Edward Haymaker was born in 1902 and died in 1984. After his undergraduate years at Clemson College and the College of Charleston, SC, he entered the Medical College of South Carolina and received his M.D. degree in 1928. In 1934 Dr. Wilder Penfield invited him to become a Fellow at the newly created Montreal Neurological Institute. Haymaker spent a year there, earned an MSc degree from McGill University, and met fellow scientist Evelyn Anderson, PhD, whom he married in 1936. For six years he taught neuroanatomy at the University of California School of Medicine, San Francisco and University of California, Berkeley. In 1942 he was commissioned a First Lieutenant in the Army Medical Corps and assigned to the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP), in Washington, D.C. There he remained for approximately 20 years, rising to the rank of Lt. Colonel, then as civilian Chief of the Neuropathology Branch. Among his many influential publications during these years, he guided and edited a compilation of 133 biographical sketches of pioneering luminaries in neurology, "The Founders of Neurology"; this volume grew from an exhibit created for the 4th International Congress of Neurology, Paris, 1949. In 1961 Dr. Haymaker became Assistant Director for Life Sciences, then Senior Scientist, at NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, focusing his research on the biological effects of heavy cosmic ray particles, especially on the brain.

This short, bald account may be accurate as to major milestones, but conveys too little about the remarkable individual being described. Dr. Haymaker was a person of intense intellectual curiosity and ability, coupled with apparently unlimited energy and charm, someone who endeavored to aid every person who turned to him for advice or assistance, but also someone with a sense of humor to leaven the intensity of his supercharged life.

Being, in his own words, "not a person to have his eyes glued to books", Haymaker interspersed education with going to sea, rising from ordinary seaman to helmsman on a four-masted schooner. In the break after his first year of medical school he crewed on a freighter, but jumped ship in Bremerhaven because he wanted to explore European education. He spent one semester at the University of Würzburg and the next at the University of Vienna, earning certificates in Anatomy and Physiology. Then he returned to the U.S. to complete a standard medical course - M.D., internship, residency in Pathology, further clinical/research work. After that he really began traveling, now more focused on seeking new ideas, new techniques in neurology and pathology. Haymaker spent a year in Paris, half as a hospital intern, half at the University to study CNS tissue culture. Then back to the U.S. for a year as Director of Laboratories in a state sanatorium. Next came Penfield's invitation and Canada for a year, London for two years, Madrid for a few weeks (cut short by the Spanish Revolution); later Haymaker wrote "these were the days when no aspiring neurologist should fail to reach these ... meccas." The traveling never stopped, and he seemed to enjoy it despite occasional exhaustion. After the end of World War II, official trips to Japan and South America were added to numerous assignments in Europe.

Dr. Haymaker was a graceful and prolific writer and a dedicated editor. In addition to his numerous scientific papers and reports he authored, co-authored, edited, or co-edited a number of major integrative works in neurology (e.g., "Hypothalamus", "Histology and Histopathology of the Nervous System", "Peripheral Nerve Injuries") and in the history of neurology ("Founders of Neurology", 1953 and 1970, and "Breakthroughs in hypothalamic and pituitary research"); he also translated and edited Robert Bing's "Compendium of Regional Diagnosis..." (from the 5th to the 16th editions). As a lecturer he was highly sought after, receiving many more invitations than he could possibly accept. The load of his correspondence was heavy, not surprising given the number of people he contacted on his travels and the number of projects, publications, and associations in which Haymaker was involved; but from the evidence in this collection it seems that he never flagged in his politeness, patience, and eagerness to help colleagues or strangers.

Additional biographical details may be found in the following in memoriam articles: "Acta Neuropathol. (Berlin)", 66:1-2, 1985; "J. Neuropathol. Exp. Neurol.", 44:220-223, 1985; "Neurology", 35:392-392, 1985.