Benford, Robert J., 1905-

Robert Joseph Benford (Nebraska, M.D. 1934) was an officer in the Medical Corps, U.S. Air Force during World War II and made Colonel, 1947-1960. He was also Chief, Engineering Development Division of the Armed Services Medical Procurement Agency. He specializes in aviation medicine and has been editor of several aerospace journals.

From the description of Papers of Robert J. Benford, 1935-1960 (bulk). (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 281436844

Robert J. Benford (1905-1990), B.A., 1927, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska; B.S., 1932, University of Nebraska, Omaha; D.M., 1934, University of Nebraska College of Medicine, Omaha, was a United States Air Force surgeon and medical journalist specializing in the field of aviation medicine. Benford was a research associate at the Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, from 1941 to 1942, working on the development of oxygen masks for military pilots. He later served as editor of several aerospace journals, including the United States Armed Forces Medical Journal and the Journal of Aviation Medicine .

Robert J. Benford was born 24 April 1905 in Omaha, Nebraska. After earning his B.A. at Creighton University, Benford worked as a journalist while earning his medical degree from the University of Nebraska College of Medicine (awarded 1934). Benford entered commissioned service as a First Lieutenant in the United States Army Medical Corps in 1936; he was certified as a flight surgeon in 1940. From 1940 to 1941, Benford served as a Research Associate in Physiology at Harvard School of Public Health. While an associate, he worked with Cecil K. Drinker (1887-1956) on the examination and construction of oxygen masks for high altitude flight. Subsequently, Benford served as a medical officer in the China-Burma-India theater during World War II. After the war, he commanded the United States Army Air Force Aeromedical Center in Heidelberg, Germany, where he was responsible for collecting and evaluating German medical intelligence and recruiting selected German aerospace scientists for employment in the United States. Benford wrote about his experiences in his Report from Heidelberg: The Story of the Army Air Forces Aero Medical Center in Germany (1947). In 1947, Benford transferred to the United States Air Force Medical Service, where he remained until his retirement in 1960. In 1953, Benford became editor of the U.S. Armed Forces Medical Journal. An active member of the Aerospace Medical Association, Benford served from 1955 to1960 as the editor of the association’s Journal of Aviation Medicine. He retired from the military and became Director of Medical Relations for the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association in 1960.

During his lifetime, Benford authored numerous articles on the topic of aerospace medicine and its history. In 1955, to commemorate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Aerospace Medical Association, he wrote, Doctors in the Sky: The Story of the Aero Medical Association. He also compiled a list of artifacts from aviation’s early history, which was published in 1979 as The Heritage of Aviation Medicine: An Annotated Directory of Early Artifacts. His military decorations include the Legion of Merit and the Founders Medal of the Association of Military Surgeons. In 1962, he received the Aerospace Medical Association’s Theodore C. Lyster Award for outstanding achievement in the general field of aviation medicine.

Benford married Dolores Agnes Whitely in 1937 and had twin daughters, Betty Mary and Barbara Ann. He died of pneumonia in Washington D.C., in 1991.

From the guide to the Robert J. Benford papers, 1917-1989 (inclusive), 1935-1960 (bulk)., (Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine. Center for the History of Medicine.)