Robert Spann Cathcart was born September 25, 1871 in Columbia, South Carolina. He graduated from the School of Pharmacy of the University of South Carolina in 1890 and received his M.D. from the Medical College of the State of South Carolina in 1893. He practiced general medicine in Charleston, South Carolina until 1907 when he limited his practice to surgery. He served as the surgeon for The Citadel, the South Carolina Power Company, the South Carolina Public Service Company, the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, Seaboard Airline Railway and Allied Engineers. He also acted as consulting surgeon to the U.S. Fidelity and Guaranty Company as well as the Conway Hospital. During World War I, Dr. Cathcart served in the army medical corps and was responsible for organizing South Carolina's military medical personnel. Starting in 1895, he served on the faculty of the Medical College of the state of South Carolina for thirty-six years as a professor of surgery as well as the Chief Surgeon at Roper Hospital for thirty years. Dr. Cathcart was a major participant in the rebuilding of Roper Hospital in 1905. He also opposed the construction of a separate Medical College Hospital and recommended the expansion of Roper Hospital to serve the Medical College. He was president of several medical associations including the Southern Surgical Association, Tri-State Medical Association, South Carolina Medical Association, the Medical Society of South Carolina, the Society for the Relief of Families of Deceased and Disabled Members of the Medical Profession in South Carolina and the Atlantic Coast Line Surgeons Association. Of particular note, Dr. Cathcart was a founding member of the American College of Surgeons and served on its Board of Governors for many years. He was engaged in many other professional and civic organizations in Charleston and South Carolina. On January 5, 1898, he married Katherine J. Morrow. Dr. Robert S. Cathcart died on April 29, 1949.
From the description of Robert S. Cathcart Papers 1917-2005. (Medical University of South Carolina Library). WorldCat record id: 746351829
