Hal Downey was born in State College, Pennsylvania in 1877. He received a bachelor of science (1903) master of science in zoology (1904) and Ph..D (1909) all from the University of Minnesota. From 1903 through 1929 he was a professor in the Department of Zoology. Upon the retirement of Thomas G. Lee from the Department of Anatomy in 1929, Downey was transferred to fill Lee's position.
Though not a physician, Downey was an authority on hematology and was consulted by physicians throughout Minnesota for the diagnosis of blood diseases. Of his many research contributions to hematology, Downey is most noted for his pioneer studies in infectious mononucleosis, carried out in collaboration with Dr. C.A. McKinlay. He was the American editor of the journal Folia Haematologica as well as the four-volume Handbook of Haematology published in 1939. The Handbook was the first of its kind in hematology and was for many years the standard work on the subject.
After retiring in 1946, he lectured at the Mayo Clinic for two years, then returned to his laboratory at the University of Minnesota, where he worked until shortly before his death in 1959.
From the guide to the Hal Downey papers, 1908-1958, (University of Minnesota Libraries. University of Minnesota Archives [uarc])
