Gordon Hatler Scott (1901-1970) was born in Winfield, Kansas on April 10, 1901. He received his Ph.D. in anatomy at the University of Minnesota in 1926. Upon graduation, Scott worked at Loyola University in Chicago as an Assistant Professor of Anatomy for two years. He then moved to New York City to assist E.V. Cowdry with cytological studies of malaria at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research.
When Cowdry was selected to be the head of the cytology program at Washington University in 1928, Scott followed Cowdry and was appointed Assistant Professor of Cytology at Washington University. Scott held this position until 1931, when he was promoted to Associate Professor of Cytology (1931-1941), and later Associate Professor of Histology (1941-1942). Scott researched medical physics and developed many physical methods of study for biology. He is credited with creating the nation's first electron microscope, which is now located in the Bernard Becker Medical Library.
Scott left Washington University to become the head of the anatomy department at the University of Southern California. In 1945 he became the Chairman of the Department of Anatomy at Wayne State University. He was promoted to Dean of the School of Medicine in 1950, where he pushed to increase enrollment and oversaw a significant expansion of the school's facilities.
Dr. Scott held a number of administrative positions in professional organizations and he was presented with several honors throughout his career. He was a member of the White House Conference on Child Health and Protection in 1930, served as vice president of the American Association of Medical Colleges in 1957, and was a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
E.V. Cowdry was Gordon Scott's mentor and head of Cytology division when Scott was at the Washington University School of Medicine.
1927-1930