Dr. Guy Whitman Leadbetter ²⁷²

   Cause of his death was coronary occlusion.

Who's Who In Orthopedics
By Seyed Behrooz Mostofi
p. 188

Guy Whitman Leadbetter
1893 - 1945

Born in Bangor, Maine December 12, 1893, the son of Fred H. and Maude E. Leadbetter, Guy Leadbetter enjoyed the advantages of the wholesome and rugged life of New England. He entered Bowdoin College and was graduated with an AB degree in 1916. In his senior year he was captain of the track team, captain of the football team, established the intercollegiate record for the 16 pound hammer, which stood for many years, and was a candidate for the olympic team. He was president of his class and was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa Society. These achivements while at college show the great physical, mental, and personal qualifications of the man. He retained his interest in his Alma Mater and was a member of the Bowdoin Alumni Council and Chairman of the Bowdoin Alumni Association, Chapter of Washington, D.C., and in 1942, was given the honorary degree of Doctor of Science.

He received his MD degree from the John Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1920. In medical school he obtained a high scholastic standing, engaged in many university and medical school activities, and was one of the most highly regarded students in his class. While a student, he chose to become an orthopedic surgeon and received his surgical training at the Lakeside Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio, and his orthopedic training at the John Hopkins Hospital and the Children's Hospital School. He entered private practice in Washington, D.C., in 1923, and became one of the outstanding surgeons of the community and soon earned a well deserved national and international reputation. Many contributions were the result of his work, the most notable of which was his untiring interest in fractures of the neck of the femur. He was clinical professor of surgery of the George Washington Medical School, chief of the orthopedic service of the Emergency Hospital, and consultant to the Children's Hospital and the Casualty Hospital.

His sterling qualifications were recognized early and he was elected a member of the American Orthopedic Association in 1930 and of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons in 1934. He also served as chairman of the bone and joint section of the Southern Medical Association.

Dr. Leadbetter was a man who never shirked a responsibility. He served on the Military Committee of the American Orthopedic Association and the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons for many years and gave unstintingly of his time to the Office of the Surgeon General. He was appointed orthopedic consultant to the Secretary of War, and secretary to the Orthopedic Committee of the National Research Council.

He was an accomplished pianist and had a fine and well trained baritone voice. He was a linguist, and was proficient in German, Spanish and French. Among his other hobbies were astronomy, geology, entomology, scientific photography, anthropology, and archaeology. He gave many lectures on these subjects and compiled an illustrated lecture on "Mayan Ruins at Yucatan." For several years he was the guest lecturer on the outdoor program of the National Capital Parks and spoke on a wide variety of subjects, such as "Death Valley Days," "Bird Life" and "With the Lumber Jacks in the Maine Woods." His interest and work in anthropology was so outstanding that serveral days after his demise, a letter arrived offering him a membership in the Anthropological Society at Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was a forceful speaker, and his spoken and written language were characteristic of his cultural background.

On November 11, 1945, Dr. Guy Whitman Leadbetter, President-Elect of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, died in the Emergency Hospital, Washington, DC of a coronary occlusion. He had been confined to the hospital only a few days and died, as he had lived, without fear, advising his friends that he had no apprehension about his health.

To his friends and associates, he typified the "indestructible man" -- a person endowed with the physical, mental, and temperamental qualities, who should have lived to be a centenarian and not have passed away at the age of 51, when his many sterling qualities were being recognized and a future still lay before him. He accomplished much and America has lost one of its most brilliant orthopedic surgeons.

It was very fitting that such a man should have had such an ideal family life. In September 1925 he married Alice Charlotte Johnson, and he was survived by her and their two children, Guy Whitman, Jr. and Patricia Alice.

  Events

• He was described as being tall with blue eyes and black hair.

• He appeared on the census in 1900 in Bangor, Penobscot County, Maine. He lived in the household of his parents.

• He appeared on the census in 1910 in Bangor, Penobscot County, Maine. He lived in the household of his parents.

• He appeared on the census in 1920 in Lincoln, Penobscot County, Maine. He was single and lived in the household of his father and step-mother.

• He was educated at John Hopkins University in Baltimore, Baltimore County, Maryland. He was a medical student.

• He worked as an orthopedic surgeon.

• He appeared on the census in 1930 in Washington, Washington County, D.C.. He was head of household and owned property valued at $40,000. A servant named Jennie Callahan and a nurse named Elizabeth Younger lived in the home.

Guy married Alice Charlotte Johnson 5 September 1925 in Youngstown, Mahoning County, Ohio.⁶⁸²¹ (Alice Charlotte Johnson was born 19 January 1897 in Pennsylvania ⁶⁸²³ and died 8 September 1966 in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts ^6823,6824.)