Clark, Randolph Lee, Jr.

Randolph Lee Clark was born July 2, 1906 to Randolph Lee Clark, Sr., teacher and president of several Texas colleges including Texas Christian University, and Leni Leoti Sypert, musician and teacher. As the son and grandson of college presidents, he lived with role models whose optimistic outlook and ideals nurtured his untiring ability to work toward the goal of containing and possibly curing cancer. After his father’s death, he preferred to be known as R. Lee Clark.

Dr. Clark’s early medical career as Chief Resident at the American Hospital in Paris and as a Fellow at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota laid the foundation for concepts that became the cornerstone of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. His military service enabled him to meet surgeons and physicians from throughout the United States and to exchange ideas and plans for postwar institutions. He was appointed Director of Surgical Research for the U.S. Army (Air) Medical Corps as well as Consultant to the Air Surgeon General. Clark’s successes were recognized by the Regents of the University of Texas and in 1946 he was asked to develop what would become the nation’s first cancer hospital within a university system.

In Houston, he started work with 22 employees in the house and stables cum carriage-house of a donated family estate. The stables housed research laboratories for biochemistry and biology. Dr. Clark located surplus Army barracks, had them moved to the estate grounds, and converted them to a clinic. During this time, employees, including some ex-military associates, were recruited to expand M.D. Anderson Hospital. A story then circulating told of one employee asking another if he had noticed how ‘vague’ Dr. Clark was when discussing salaries, benefits, laboratory space, and other necessities. The second employee replied, “Oh, no, ‘vague’ is much too precise a word.”

Lee Clark had vision, energy, and the ability to inspire the generosity of major businessmen in Houston and citizens throughout Texas. The M.D. Anderson Foundation was also a benefactor. At that time, the Texas Medical Center was expanding and M.D. Anderson Hospital became one of its cornerstones. Dr. Clark collaborated with city, state, and eventually national and international leaders in medicine whose intent was to consider the problem of “incurable” cancer patients and to find a solution.

Clark married Bertha Margaret Davis, MD, an anesthesiologist from Asheville, North Carolina, on June 11, 1932. They had two children, Randolph Lee and Rabia Lynn. Lee Clark died May 3, 1994.

For more information, please consult:

Cancer Bulletin 31, no.2 (1979) : special edition.

“Contemporaries: Randolph Lee Clark, M.D.” Modern Medicine Publications, 30 Oct. 1972, 35-37.

The First Twenty Years, of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute. Houston, TX: U.T. M.D. Anderson Hosptial and Tumor Institute, 1964.

LeMaistre, Charles A, MD. “R. Lee Clark in memoriam.” Cancer, 74, no. 4 (1994) : 1513-15.

Macon, N. Don. Clark and the Anderson: a personal profile. Houston, TX: Texas Medical Center, 1976.

“M.D. Anderson’s R. Lee Clark.” Mayo Alumnus, April 1969, 14-15.

From the guide to the R. Lee Clark Papers MS 70., 1929-1985, (Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library, John P. McGovern Historical Collections and Research Center)

Randolph Lee Clark was born July 2, 1906 to Randolph Lee Clark, Sr., teacher and president of several Texas colleges including Texas Christian University, and Leni Leoti Sypert, musician and teacher. As the son and grandson of college presidents, he lived with role models whose optimistic outlook and ideals nurtured his untiring ability to work toward the goal of containing and possibly curing cancer. After his father’s death, he preferred to be known as R. Lee Clark.

Dr. Clark’s early medical career as Chief Resident at the American Hospital in Paris and as a Fellow at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota laid the foundation for concepts that became the cornerstone of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. His military service enabled him to meet surgeons and physicians from throughout the United States and to exchange ideas and plans for postwar institutions. He was appointed Director of Surgical Research for the U.S. Army (Air) Medical Corps as well as Consultant to the Air Surgeon General. Clark’s successes were recognized by the Regents of the University of Texas and in 1946 he was asked to develop what would become the nation’s first cancer hospital within a university system.

In Houston, he started work with 22 employees in the house and stables cum carriage-house of a donated family estate. The stables housed research laboratories for biochemistry and biology. Dr. Clark located surplus Army barracks, had them moved to the estate grounds, and converted them to a clinic. During this time, employees, including some ex-military associates, were recruited to expand M.D. Anderson Hospital. A story then circulating told of one employee asking another if he had noticed how ‘vague’ Dr. Clark was when discussing salaries, benefits, laboratory space, and other necessities. The second employee replied, “Oh, no, ‘vague’ is much too precise a word.”

Lee Clark had vision, energy, and the ability to inspire the generosity of major businessmen in Houston and citizens throughout Texas. The M.D. Anderson Foundation was also a benefactor. At that time, the Texas Medical Center was expanding and M.D. Anderson Hospital became one of its cornerstones. Dr. Clark collaborated with city, state, and eventually national and international leaders in medicine whose intent was to consider the problem of “incurable” cancer patients and to find a solution.

Clark married Bertha Margaret Davis, MD, an anesthesiologist from Asheville, North Carolina, on June 11, 1932. They had two children, Randolph Lee and Rabia Lynn. Lee Clark died May 3, 1994.

For more information, please consult:

Cancer Bulletin 31, no.2 (1979) : special edition.

“Contemporaries: Randolph Lee Clark, M.D.” Modern Medicine Publications, 30 Oct. 1972, 35-37.

The First Twenty Years, of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute. Houston, TX: U.T. M.D. Anderson Hosptial and Tumor Institute, 1964.

LeMaistre, Charles A, MD. “R. Lee Clark in memoriam.” Cancer, 74, no. 4 (1994) : 1513-15.

Macon, N. Don. Clark and the Anderson: a personal profile. Houston, TX: Texas Medical Center, 1976.

“M.D. Anderson’s R. Lee Clark.” Mayo Alumnus, April 1969, 14-15.

From the guide to the R. Lee Clark Papers MS 70., 1929-1985, (Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library, John P. McGovern Historical Collections and Research Center)

Randolph Lee Clark was born July 2, 1906 to Randolph Lee Clark, Sr., teacher and president of several Texas colleges including Texas Christian University, and Leni Leoti Sypert, musician and teacher. As the son and grandson of college presidents, he lived with role models whose optimistic outlook and ideals nurtured his untiring ability to work toward the goal of containing and possibly curing cancer. After his father’s death, he preferred to be known as R. Lee Clark.

Dr. Clark’s early medical career as Chief Resident at the American Hospital in Paris and as a Fellow at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota laid the foundation for concepts that became the cornerstone of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. His military service enabled him to meet surgeons and physicians from throughout the United States and to exchange ideas and plans for postwar institutions. He was appointed Director of Surgical Research for the U.S. Army (Air) Medical Corps as well as Consultant to the Air Surgeon General. Clark’s successes were recognized by the Regents of the University of Texas and in 1946 he was asked to develop what would become the nation’s first cancer hospital within a university system.

In Houston, he started work with 22 employees in the house and stables cum carriage-house of a donated family estate. The stables housed research laboratories for biochemistry and biology. Dr. Clark located surplus Army barracks, had them moved to the estate grounds, and converted them to a clinic. During this time, employees, including some ex-military associates, were recruited to expand M.D. Anderson Hospital. A story then circulating told of one employee asking another if he had noticed how ‘vague’ Dr. Clark was when discussing salaries, benefits, laboratory space, and other necessities. The second employee replied, “Oh, no, ‘vague’ is much too precise a word.”

Lee Clark had vision, energy, and the ability to inspire the generosity of major businessmen in Houston and citizens throughout Texas. The M.D. Anderson Foundation was also a benefactor. At that time, the Texas Medical Center was expanding and M.D. Anderson Hospital became one of its cornerstones. Dr. Clark collaborated with city, state, and eventually national and international leaders in medicine whose intent was to consider the problem of “incurable” cancer patients and to find a solution.

Clark married Bertha Margaret Davis, MD, an anesthesiologist from Asheville, North Carolina, on June 11, 1932. They had two children, Randolph Lee and Rabia Lynn. Lee Clark died May 3, 1994.

For more information, please consult:

Cancer Bulletin 31, no.2 (1979) : special edition.

“Contemporaries: Randolph Lee Clark, M.D.” Modern Medicine Publications, 30 Oct. 1972, 35-37.

The First Twenty Years, of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute. Houston, TX: U.T. M.D. Anderson Hosptial and Tumor Institute, 1964.

LeMaistre, Charles A, MD. “R. Lee Clark in memoriam.” Cancer, 74, no. 4 (1994) : 1513-15.

Macon, N. Don. Clark and the Anderson: a personal profile. Houston, TX: Texas Medical Center, 1976.

“M.D. Anderson’s R. Lee Clark.” Mayo Alumnus, April 1969, 14-15.

From the guide to the R. Lee Clark Papers MS 70., 1929-1985, (Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library, John P. McGovern Historical Collections and Research Center)

Randolph Lee Clark was born July 2, 1906 to Randolph Lee Clark, Sr., teacher and president of several Texas colleges including Texas Christian University, and Leni Leoti Sypert, musician and teacher. As the son and grandson of college presidents, he lived with role models whose optimistic outlook and ideals nurtured his untiring ability to work toward the goal of containing and possibly curing cancer. After his father’s death, he preferred to be known as R. Lee Clark.

Dr. Clark’s early medical career as Chief Resident at the American Hospital in Paris and as a Fellow at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota laid the foundation for concepts that became the cornerstone of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. His military service enabled him to meet surgeons and physicians from throughout the United States and to exchange ideas and plans for postwar institutions. He was appointed Director of Surgical Research for the U.S. Army (Air) Medical Corps as well as Consultant to the Air Surgeon General. Clark’s successes were recognized by the Regents of the University of Texas and in 1946 he was asked to develop what would become the nation’s first cancer hospital within a university system.

In Houston, he started work with 22 employees in the house and stables cum carriage-house of a donated family estate. The stables housed research laboratories for biochemistry and biology. Dr. Clark located surplus Army barracks, had them moved to the estate grounds, and converted them to a clinic. During this time, employees, including some ex-military associates, were recruited to expand M.D. Anderson Hospital. A story then circulating told of one employee asking another if he had noticed how ‘vague’ Dr. Clark was when discussing salaries, benefits, laboratory space, and other necessities. The second employee replied, “Oh, no, ‘vague’ is much too precise a word.”

Lee Clark had vision, energy, and the ability to inspire the generosity of major businessmen in Houston and citizens throughout Texas. The M.D. Anderson Foundation was also a benefactor. At that time, the Texas Medical Center was expanding and M.D. Anderson Hospital became one of its cornerstones. Dr. Clark collaborated with city, state, and eventually national and international leaders in medicine whose intent was to consider the problem of “incurable” cancer patients and to find a solution.

Clark married Bertha Margaret Davis, MD, an anesthesiologist from Asheville, North Carolina, on June 11, 1932. They had two children, Randolph Lee and Rabia Lynn. Lee Clark died May 3, 1994.

For more information, please consult:

Cancer Bulletin 31, no.2 (1979) : special edition.

“Contemporaries: Randolph Lee Clark, M.D.” Modern Medicine Publications, 30 Oct. 1972, 35-37.

The First Twenty Years, of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute. Houston, TX: U.T. M.D. Anderson Hosptial and Tumor Institute, 1964.

LeMaistre, Charles A, MD. “R. Lee Clark in memoriam.” Cancer, 74, no. 4 (1994) : 1513-15.

Macon, N. Don. Clark and the Anderson: a personal profile. Houston, TX: Texas Medical Center, 1976.

“M.D. Anderson’s R. Lee Clark.” Mayo Alumnus, April 1969, 14-15.

From the guide to the R. Lee Clark Papers MS 70., 1929-1985, (Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library, John P. McGovern Historical Collections and Research Center)

Randolph Lee Clark was born July 2, 1906 to Randolph Lee Clark, Sr., teacher and president of several Texas colleges including Texas Christian University, and Leni Leoti Sypert, musician and teacher. As the son and grandson of college presidents, he lived with role models whose optimistic outlook and ideals nurtured his untiring ability to work toward the goal of containing and possibly curing cancer. After his father’s death, he preferred to be known as R. Lee Clark.

Dr. Clark’s early medical career as Chief Resident at the American Hospital in Paris and as a Fellow at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota laid the foundation for concepts that became the cornerstone of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. His military service enabled him to meet surgeons and physicians from throughout the United States and to exchange ideas and plans for postwar institutions. He was appointed Director of Surgical Research for the U.S. Army (Air) Medical Corps as well as Consultant to the Air Surgeon General. Clark’s successes were recognized by the Regents of the University of Texas and in 1946 he was asked to develop what would become the nation’s first cancer hospital within a university system.

In Houston, he started work with 22 employees in the house and stables cum carriage-house of a donated family estate. The stables housed research laboratories for biochemistry and biology. Dr. Clark located surplus Army barracks, had them moved to the estate grounds, and converted them to a clinic. During this time, employees, including some ex-military associates, were recruited to expand M.D. Anderson Hospital. A story then circulating told of one employee asking another if he had noticed how ‘vague’ Dr. Clark was when discussing salaries, benefits, laboratory space, and other necessities. The second employee replied, “Oh, no, ‘vague’ is much too precise a word.”

Lee Clark had vision, energy, and the ability to inspire the generosity of major businessmen in Houston and citizens throughout Texas. The M.D. Anderson Foundation was also a benefactor. At that time, the Texas Medical Center was expanding and M.D. Anderson Hospital became one of its cornerstones. Dr. Clark collaborated with city, state, and eventually national and international leaders in medicine whose intent was to consider the problem of “incurable” cancer patients and to find a solution.

Clark married Bertha Margaret Davis, MD, an anesthesiologist from Asheville, North Carolina, on June 11, 1932. They had two children, Randolph Lee and Rabia Lynn. Lee Clark died May 3, 1994.

For more information, please consult:

Cancer Bulletin 31, no.2 (1979) : special edition.

“Contemporaries: Randolph Lee Clark, M.D.” Modern Medicine Publications, 30 Oct. 1972, 35-37.

The First Twenty Years, of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute. Houston, TX: U.T. M.D. Anderson Hosptial and Tumor Institute, 1964.

LeMaistre, Charles A, MD. “R. Lee Clark in memoriam.” Cancer, 74, no. 4 (1994) : 1513-15.

Macon, N. Don. Clark and the Anderson: a personal profile. Houston, TX: Texas Medical Center, 1976.

“M.D. Anderson’s R. Lee Clark.” Mayo Alumnus, April 1969, 14-15.

From the guide to the R. Lee Clark Papers MS 70., 1929-1985, (Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library, John P. McGovern Historical Collections and Research Center)