 | JOHN WEBSTER KIRKLIN |
The following biographical sketch was compiled at the time of induction into the Academy in 1974, and updated in 2004.
Dr. John W. Kirklin, a native of Muncie, Indiana, joined the faculty of the University of Alabama
at Birmingham as professor and chairman of the Department of Surgery in the School of Medicine
in 1966. Previously he had been associated with the Mayo Foundation, University of Minnesota and
Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
Dr. Kirklin's many honors include the Rudolph Matas Award in Vascular Surgery of Tulane
University for outstanding surgical procedures in heart valve operations which he received in 1967.
He also became an honorary Fellow in the internationally prestigious British Royal College of
Surgeons in 1970.
Since coming to Birmingham, Dr. Kirklin established a comprehensive training program for
young heart surgeons. The research program which he headed at the University of Alabama is a
model for departments of surgery.
Dr. Kirklin was inducted into the Alabama Academy of Honor on August 19, 1974.
Dr. Kirklin passed away in April 2004.
Updated: March 14, 2007