Harry Justice Warthen Jr. papers

Harry Justice Warthen, Jr. (1901-1984) was born in Port Norfolk, Virginia, and moved to Alexandria and then to Richmond in 1917. He did his undergraduate work at UVA and also graduated from UVA's School of Medicine in 1925. After an internship at St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Richmond and a residency at Johns Hopkins University Hospital, Warthen studied for a year at the University of Freiburg in Germany. He also served in the Medical Corps of the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. Warthen spent much of his career in Richmond, VA, where he was known as a talented surgeon and medical historian. He was an assistant professor and associate professor of surgery at the Medical College of Virginia from 1933 to 1966. In the years after WWII, he specialized in cancer surgery. Warthen also helped to found Richmond Memorial Hospital, which opened in 1957.

Warthen retired from medical practice in 1972 and became a chief surgical consultant to the Virginia Division of Rehabilitation. He was a member of the Richmond Board of Health, president of the Richmond Academy, and editor of the "Virginia Medical Monthly." Throughout his life, Warthen was interested in history, particularly Civil War medicine, and he wrote a number of articles on the subject. A prolific author, Warthen prepared more than 250 articles over his career; 45 dealt chiefly with surgical matters, the rest were editorials that appeared in the "Virginia Medical Monthly," 11 of which concerned the University of Virginia. A lifelong supporter of UVA, Warthen also served as president of the Medical Alumni Association. Other positions that he held included Chair of the Virginia Bicentennial Medical Exhibit and Curator of the Richmond Academy of Medicine.