Dickinson W. Richards

Biography

• Born on October 30, 1895 in Orange, New Jersey, United States of America
• 1913 – Yale University studying English and Greek. Hugh Chamberlain prize for Greek entrance examinations with the highest mark ever obtained.
• 1917 – Bachelor of Arts, Yale University. He joined United States Army in September and served as an instructor in artillery.
• 1919 – Artillery officer in France.
• 1922 – Masters degree in Physiology, Columbia University under Professor Ernest L. Scott
• 1923 – Doctor of Medicine, College of Physicians and Surgeons. Internship and residency at Presbyterian Hospital.
• 1927 – Fellowship at the National Institute for Medical Research in London, United Kingdom 
• 1928-1945 – Attending Physician at Presbyterian Hospital. During this time he began to collaborate with André Cournand at the Bellevue Hospital in New York – development of cardiac catheterisation and other physiological studies.
• 1935 – Medical adviser to Merck & Co. Inc, New Jersey, United States of America. Editor of the Merck Manual
• 1945 – Director of the First Medical Division (Columbia) at Bellevue Hospital 
• 1947 – The Lambert Professor of Medicine at Columbia University, Dr. Cournand would visit frequently for the work they did together.
• 1950’s – Editor of the AHA journal Circulation
• 1956 – Awarded the Nobel prize along with Dr. André Cournand and Dr. Werner Forßmann
• 1957 – Citation of the American Heart Association in 1957
• 1960 – John Phillips Memorial Award of the American College of Physicians
• 1962 – President of the Harvey Society and of the Association of American Physicians
• 1963 – Chevalier de la Legion d’honneur
• 1968 – Trudeau Medal, endowed professorship at Columbia University for his contribution to the Merck Manual
• 1970 – Kober Medal from the Association of American Physicians
• Died February 23, 1973 in Lakevile, Connecticut, United States of America. The Dickinson W. Richards Memorial Lecture was established in his memory

Controversies

Indeed, as a member of the Bellevue Medical Board, Dick was outspoken and unyielding in his criticism of the city’s neglect of its hospitals and in his efforts to bring to bear pressure to oblige the city to erect a new hospital building.

¹Courand A 1989

Major Publications

• Richards DW, Cournand A et al. Relation Between Electrical and Mechanical Events of the Cardiac Cycle in Normal and Abnormal Clinical States. Trans Assoc Am Physicians. 1947;60(1 vol):65-73.
• Richards DW. Contributions of Right Heart Catheterization to the Physiology of Congestive Heart Failure. Am J Med. 1947 Oct;3(4):434-46.
• Richards DW. The Effects of Haemorrhage on the Circulation. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1948 May 11;49(Art 4):534-41.
• Darling R, Cournand A, Mansfield J, Richards DW. Studies on the Intrapulmonary mixture of gases. I. Nitrogen elimination from blood and body tissues during high oxygen breathing. Journal of Clinical Investigation. 1940; pp.591-597.
• Cournand A, Darling R, Mansfield J, Richards DW. Studies on The Intrapulmonary Mixture of Gases II. Analysis of the Rebreathing Method (Closed Circuit) for Measuring Residual Air. Journal of Clinical Investigation. 1940; 19(4), pp.599-608.
• Darling R, Cournand A, Richards DW. Studies On The Intrapulmonary Mixture of Gases. III. An Open Circuit Method for Measuring Residual Air. Journal of Clinical Investigation. 1940; 19(4), pp.609-618.
• Cournand A, Baldwin E, Darling R, Richards DW. Studies on Intrapulmonary Mixture of Gases. IV. The Significance of the Pulmonary Emptying Rate and a Simplified Open Circuit Measurement of Residual Air. Journal of Clinical Investigation. 1941; 20(6), pp.681-689.
• Darling R, Cournand A, Richards D, Domanski B. Studies on Intrapulmonary Mixture of Gases. V. Forms of Inadequate Ventilation in Normal and Emphysematous Lungs, Analysed by Means of Breathing Pure Oxygen. Journal of Clinical Investigation. 1994; 23(1), pp.55-67.
• Cournand A, Riley R, Breed E, Baldwin E, Richards DW, Lester M, Jones M. Measurement of Cardiac Output in Man Using The Technique of Catheterization of The Right Auricle or Ventricle. Journal of Clinical Investigation. 1945; 24(1), pp.106-116.
• Bloomfield R, Lauson H, Cournand A, Breed E, Richards DW. Recording of Right Heart Pressures in Normal Subjects and in Patients with Chronic Pulmonary Disease and Various Types of Cardio-Circulatory Disease. Journal of Clinical Investigation. 1946; 25(4), pp.639-664.
• Richards DW, Cournand A. Relation Between Electrical and Mechanical Events of the Cardiac Cycle in Normal and Abnormal Clinical States. Assoc Am Physicians. 1947; 60(1 vol):65-73.
• Richards DW Jr. Observations on the Dynamics of the Systemic Circulation in man. Bull N Y Acad Med. 1946; 22(12):630–64.
• Richards D. Contributions of Right Heart Catheterization to the Physiology of Congestive Heart Failure. Am J Med. 1947; 3(4):434-446.
• Richards DW Jr. The Effects of Hemorrhage on the Circulation. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1948 May 11;49(Art 4):534-41.

References

1. Courand A. Dickinson Woodruff Richards: A Biographical Memoir. National Academy of Science. 1989
2. Goldring R. Cournand and Richards: The Nobel Prize. Annals of the American Thoracic Society 2018; 15 pp.S1-S3
3. New York Times (1973). Dr. Dickinson Richards Dead; ’56 Nobel Laureate in Medicine.
4. Dickinson W. Richards – Biographical. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Media AB 2019
5. Carroll DG. Memorial. Dickinson W. Richards, M.D.Transactions of the American Clinical and Climatological Association vol. 86 (1975); XLIII-XLIV
6. Nickson C. History of the Pulmonary Artery Catheter. LITFL

[cite]