C. Everett Koop
(1916-2013)

13th Surgeon General of the United States
1995 Presidential Medal of Freedom
1991 Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism
1996 Heinz Award Winner

birthdate: October 14
birthplace:
Brooklyn, New York

Dr. C. Everett Koop is best known as the outspoken 13th Surgeon General of the United States, reaching millions at the time with vital health education on smoking and AIDS, but he spent most of his career working hands-on and one-on-one as a ground-breaking pediatric surgeon. For 35 years before he was appointed as Surgeon General by President Ronald Reagan in 1982, Dr. Koop worked as surgeon-in-chief at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. In addition to performing thousands of often life saving operations himself, under his direction many major innovations in pediatric surgery were developed. He instituted the nation's second pediatric surgical division at Children's Hospital, and the nation's first neonatal surgical intensive care unit, and pioneered and refined many types of surgical procedures for children. Unlike previous Surgeon Generals, Dr Koop was very visible and outspoken in his position as the nation's top doctor. Most Americans at the time easily recognized him with his mustache-less beard, dressed in his naval admiral uniform, or wearing a colorful bowtie. His strong positions on a number of health issues were often controversial. He advocated very strongly for explicit health warnings about cigarette smoking at a time when the tobacco industry carried a lot of political clout; he was a strong advocate for sex education in schools; and as Surgeon General when the AIDS crisis was first discovered, in an unprecedented action, mailed educational information about the disease to every US household. After serving as Surgeon General Dr. Koop continued teaching and writing about health issues, including the book he co-authored with his wife, Sometimes Mountains Move, about how he and his family coped with the death of their college son years earlier in a rock-climbing accident, as a way to help other grieving families cope with the loss of a child.

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