Dr. William R. Tipton, doctor and surgeon in Las Vegas, New Mexico, was born in Missouri in 1854. He came to New Mexico with his family in 1860, settling at Watrous. He attended elementary school in Santa Fe and Tiptonville, New Mexico (name predates Dr. Tipton), and later attended medical school at the University of Missouri and Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, graduating in 1877. His first practice was in Moberly, Missouri, where he was the Assistant Chief Surgeon for the Wabash Railroad. Soon after, Tipton returned to New Mexico and opened a private practice in Tiptonville, 1877-1880. Tipton spent most of his career practicing medicine in and around Las Vegas, New Mexico. His specialties included trauma surgery and, later in his career, neuropsychiatry.
From the description of W. R. Tipton Papers, 1893-1917. (University of New Mexico-Main Campus). WorldCat record id: 46955515
Dr. William R. Tipton, doctor and surgeon in Las Vegas, New Mexico, was born in Missouri in 1854. He came to New Mexico with his family in 1860, settling at Watrous. He attended elementary school in Santa Fe and Tiptonville, New Mexico (name predates Dr. Tipton), and later attended medical school at the University of Missouri and Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, graduating in 1877. His first practice was in Moberly, Missouri, where he was the Assistant Chief Surgeon for the Wabash Railroad. Soon after, Tipton returned to New Mexico and opened a private practice in Tiptonville, 1877-1880. Tipton spent most of his career practicing medicine in and around Las Vegas, New Mexico. His specialties included trauma surgery and, later in his career, neuropsychiatry.
Tipton's medical career was long, distinguished, and had a major impact on medicine in New Mexico. He used his Spanish fluency to lobby politicians in Santa Fe for a medical society and, later, as a simultaneous translator at the society's functions. He founded the Las Vegas Medical Society in 1882 and helped establish the New Mexico Medical Society as well. He was superintendent of the Las Vegas Hospital for the Insane (1897-1906), Regent of the Normal University at Las Vegas from 1902-1906, and helped establish medical standards as President of the New Mexico Medical Society in 1885, 1888, 1893, and 1895. He was also Vice-President of the American Medical Association three times.
Tipton married Elizabeth Duncan in 1878. He died in Las Vegas, New Mexico, in 1924.
From the guide to the W. R. Tipton Papers, 1893-1917, (University of New Mexico. Center for Southwest Research.)
