University of Pennsylvania Surgeon, Dr William T. Fitts, Dies.—William Thomas Fitts, Jr, MD, professor of surgery and former chairman of the Department of Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and former chief of surgery at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, died Tuesday, June 17, at Pennsylvania Hospital following a brief illness. He was 64 years old.
A native of Jackson, Tenn, and graduate of Union University in Jackson, Dr Fitts was a long-time resident of Philadelphia, where he received his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania and completed his internship and surgical residency at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. In World War II, Dr Fitts served as a surgical ward officer for the 20th General Hospital in the Pacific theater, with the rank of captain.
Internationally recognized for his contributions to the surgical treatment of trauma, Dr Fitts was editor of