ABSTRACT
If Phillip Physick (1768-1809), the noted Philadelphia surgeon, is considered by some the Father of American Surgery, one could righdy name William Stewart Halsted (1852-1922) the Father of Modern American Surgery. Halsted contributed in many ways to the modern development of this discipline through his long-term commit ment to the practice of the art and science of surgery. He expanded the horizon of the future specialist, defined the field in more specific terms, and hilly organized the training of surgeons.
