Willis C. Campbell (Fig. 1) was born in Jackson, Mississippi, received his M.D. from the University of Virginia in 1904, and after an internship of two years, he went to Memphis where he practiced in anesthesia and pediatrics. He was not very successful in either venture. He became interested in orthopedic surgery and studied in England, Europe, Boston, and New York. In 1909 he returned to Memphis and set up his practice in orthopedic surgery in a downtown office building. In 1911 he organized the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery in the newly located University of Tennessee College of Medicine and became the first professor and chairman, positions he held for 30 years until his death in 1941.

In 1921 the Willis C. Campbell Clinic was opened in the university's medical center. At first it was a one-story building, but later four stories were added that housed a complete hospital. In 1924, Cambell established a residency training program in orthopedic surgery, the first residency program of any kind in Memphis. It provided essentially the same training recommended by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery when it was established about ten years later. Graduates from the Campbell Foundation-University of Tennessee residency program now number approximately 230 and are scattered throughout the United States, Canada, and Central and South America.

In 1923 he opened a hospital for crippled adults in an old building on Alabama Street that in 1927 was replaced by a new building financed by a Mississippi philanthropist. It was a complete hospital and for many years was financed by donations from the Rotary Clubs of Mississippi, Arkansas, and Tennessee. It was unique in that it was for indigent adults only. Much major reconstructive surgery was performed there and the hospital was an excellent part of the residency training program.

In 1931, with substantial help from Campbell, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons was conceived and established. Campbell was its first president. He was one of only three men to ever be president of both the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons and the American Orthopaedic Association.

In the mid-1930s, Campbell saw the need for a general textbook on orthopedic surgery, and in 1939 he published the first edition of Campbell's Operative Orthopaedics. It became known as the "bible of orthopedic surgery" and has been published through seven editions; some editions have been published in Spanish, French, and Italian, and an Asian edition in English is used in the Far East. In addition, Campbell devised many new operations and surgical approaches that bear his name.

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