Hornbein, Thomas F., 1930-

Thomas Hornbein (1930-) began his academic career as a geology major at the University of Colorado from 1948 to 1952, where he began teaching mountain rescue and first aid courses. He attended medical school at Washington University School of Medicine (1952-1956) and then residency training and postdoctoral research (1957-1961). He continued his interest in high altitude and physiology of breathing as a NIH-supported research fellow with Dr. Albert Roos. Hornbein's research has focused on the stimuli which prompt animals to breathe, particularly carotid body and central chromosensors and the regulation of brain acid base balance. He participated in the American Mount Everest Expedition, in which Hornbein and his climbing partner Willi Unsoeld were the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest via the West Ridge in 1963. Hornbein's interest in expeditions and mountaineering has also led him to climbs in Karakoram in Pakistan and China.

From the description of Thomas Hornbein papers, 1958-2003. (University of California, San Diego). WorldCat record id: 60806262

Biography

Born in 1930 in St. Louis, Missouri, Thomas Hornbein developed an early interest in geology and mountain exploration. He began his academic career as a geology major at the University of Colorado from (1948-1952) where he began teaching mountain rescue and first aid courses, prompting an interest in medicine. He returned to his hometown in St. Louis, Missouri, to attend medical school at Washington University School of Medicine (1952-1956) and then residency training and postdoctoral research (1957-1961). He continued his interest in high altitude and physiology of breathing as a NIH-supported research fellow with Dr. Albert Roos.

After holding an instructorship at Washington University, St. Louis, he served his military duty as a Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy stationed in San Diego Naval Hospital (1961-1963), during which time he requested an honorable discharge to be a member of the American Mount Everest Expedition in 1963. With veteran mountaineer Willi Unsoeld, Hornbein reached the summit of Mount Everest on May 22, 1963, to become the first climbers to ascend the mountain via the West Ridge and to traverse down the other side. The team was presented with the National Geographic Society Hubbard Medal by President John F. Kennedy in July 1963.

Upon returning from the Everest expedition, Hornbein assumed a position as Assistant Professor, joint appointment in the Department of Anesthesiology and the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at the University of Washington in Seattle (1963). His tenure at UW continued as Associate Professor (1967), Professor (1970-2002), Chairman of the Anesthesiology Department, School of Medicine (1978-93), and Professor Emeritus (2002-present).

Dr. Hornbein's research has focused on the stimuli which prompt animals to breathe, particularly carotid body and central chemosensors and the regulation of brain acid base balance. His studies have yielded over 100 journal articles and book chapters. He also maintained editorial responsibilites for HIGH ALTITUDE: AN EXPLORATION OF HUMAN ADAPTATION, co-edited with Robert Schoene, M.D., which included more than twenty contributing authors. His editorial responsibilities have extended to the American Physiological Society, as an editor and book reviewer and to scholarly journals such as ANESTHESIOLOGY and the JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSIOLOGY.

Dr. Hornbein's interest in expedition and mountaineering has led him to climbs in Karakoram in Pakistan and China. In addition to his international expeditions, he has climbed Mount Rainier in Washington and Long's Peak in Colorado. The climb of Masherbrum peak (1960) provided a unique experience for Hornbein, prompting him, with the support of the Maytag Company, to devise a single-valved oxygen mask more effective for high altitude climbing. The concept mask was subsequently created for the Everest climb in 1963.

Dr. Hornbein currently lives in Estes Park, Colorado and continues his interest in mountaineering and high altitude adaptation medicine.

From the guide to the Thomas Hornbein Papers, 1958 - 2003, (University of California, San Diego. Geisel Library. Mandeville Special Collections Library.)

Biographical/Historical note

John "Jack" T. Reeves was born on November 17, 1928 in Hazard, Kentucky. Reeves attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, graduating with a B.S. in biology in 1950. He continued with his education at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, receiving his M.D. in 1954. He spent some time as a resident at Cincinnati General Hospital before relocating to the University of Colorado Medical Center from 1957-1961. During his residency at the Center, he developed a working relationship with Robert Grover, a physician and high altitude physiologist at the cardiac catheterization laboratory. He spent eleven years at the University of Kentucky (1961-1972), including one year with Geoffrey Dawes, prominent respiratory physiologist at Oxford's Nuffield Institute for Medical Research. By 1970, he was named professor of medicine. During his years at Kentucky, he studied fetal lung circulation in animals, specifically newborn cattle. In 1972, Reeves moved to Denver at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center where he remained for almost thirty-two years as professor of medicine, pediatrics, and family medicine with involvements in surgery/emergency medicine. He was granted emeritus status in 1994, upon retirement from both the pediatrics and medicine departments and received teaching awards for his second year medical school pathophysiology courses, 1982-1994.

Considered by many of his colleagues to be an interdisciplinary scientist, Reeves' research not only involved high altitude studies, but neonatal medicine, anesthesiology, and biology. Some of his first high altitude studies, he conducted with Peter Hackett, answered questions about ventilatory acclimatization using mountaineers in Nepal. He later continued ventilation testing in Pike's Peak, Colorado, in a series of high altitude tests from 1982-1985. From 1999-2001, he was also involved in a study about altitude acclimatization in women, a subject that had not been explored fully in scientific analysis.

From 1985-1987, Reeves participated in the Operation Everest II research project in a simulated altitude chamber in Natick, Massachusetts. He was responsible for performing cardiac catheterizations to better understand circulatory function at high altitude. The accumulated data would result in numerous published articles and awards including the American Thoracic Society Research Achievement Award in 1996.

His research from over thirty-five years resulted in approximately 400 peer reviewed journal articles and several chapters in eleven published books. The topical distribution of his articles covers over fourteen disclipines, including pulmonary hypertension, altitude illness, cardiac output, metabolism, and circulatory control. One of his notable efforts is the history book Attitudes on Altitude: Pioneers of Medical Research in Colorado's High Mountains (2001), a narrative compilation of pioneers of high altitude medicine, edited with Robert Grover. He also wrote a non-scientific book titled Literary Gems: A Reading List of Great Short Books (1998).

Reeves was a member of the Cardiovascular Pulmonary Laboratory at the Colorado University School of Medicine, where he played a signficant role in the establishment of the Colorado Center for Altitude Medicine and Physiology. He also served as the research director of the former Colorado Altitude Research Institute in 1992, an association developed for public awareness education of high altitude safety.

John Reeves died on September 15, 2004, in Denver, Colorado.

References:

Hopkins, Susan and Peter D. Wagner. "New Directions in Exercise Physiology: John T. Reeves", Respiratory Physiology and Neurobiology, Volume 151, Issues 2-3, April 28, 2006.

From the guide to the John T. Reeves Papers, 1949-2004, (Mandeville Special Collections Library)