Pediatric Pioneer, Victor C. Vaughan III, M.D., Dies at 81

Victor C. Vaughan III, M.D. 1919 - 2000

The medical community lost one of its most prominent members on Thursday, November 30, 2000. Victor C. Vaughan III, M.D. died at Stanford University Hospital of complications related to a heart attack.

Dr. Vaughan made a lifetime of contributions to medical education and evaluation. He graduated from Harvard College (1940) and Harvard Medical School (1943), and completed his internship and residency in Pediatrics at Massachusetts General Hospital and New Haven Hospital. After a two-year Fellowship in Hematology, at the Blood Grouping Laboratory of Louis K. Diamond at Children's Hospital in Boston, Dr. Vaughan went to Yale University School of Medicine, where he served as Assistant Professor of Pediatrics from 1950-1952. He joined the faculty of Temple University in Philadelphia, where he served as director of the Hematology Laboratory at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children. From 1957 to 1964 he was Professor and Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at the Medical College of Georgia. A humanitarian and advocate for children, he served as chairman of the Augusta chapter of the Georgia Council on Human Relations.

Dr. Vaughan returned to Temple University in 1964 as Chairman of Pediatrics and Medical Director of St. Christopher's Hospital for Children. In 1977 he became senior fellow in Medical Evaluation at the National Board of Medical Examiners and then Senior Medical Evaluation Officer at the National Board of Medical Examiners (1981-1987). Since 1988, Dr. Vaughan served as Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at Stanford University.

Dr. Vaughan's educational role extended far beyond the walls of the respective medical colleges at which he taught. As co-editor of the Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics, he influenced generations of pediatricians. He published extensively about hemolytic disease of the newborn, infant and child development, and allergic disease. He served for more than fifteen years as Consultant Editor of the PREP Program of the American Academy of Pediatrics which sets educational standards and content for self-evaluation. His most recent accomplishment was serving as coeditor of Pediatrics: A Problem Based Review (W.B. Saunders, September, 2000).

Dr. Vaughan became a national (and international) leader as President of the American Board of Pediatrics and as a founder of the American Board of Allergy and Immunology. He served as Chair of the Committee on Recertification of the American Board of Pediatrics. In 1984, Dr. Vaughan received the prestigious George Armstrong Award of the Association for Ambulatory Pediatrics.

Dr. Vaughan and his three physician brothers, all graduates of Harvard College and Harvard Medical School, represent the third generation of a prominent medical family. His father, Dr. Warren Vaughan (1892-1944), a pioneer in clinical allergy, had three brothers in medicine and public health. His uncle, Henry Vaughan, was a founder of the School of Public Health at Michigan. A cousin, Elizabeth Vaughan Potter of Chicago, is another member of the third generation of physicians. Dr. Vaughan's grandfather, the first Victor C. Vaughan, was for 30 years Dean of the University of Michigan Medical School (1891-1921) and was one of the founders of our modern university-based research-oriented medical schools. This longstanding medical tradition continues with a fourth generation of physicians, Dr. Elizabeth Vaughan of Martinsville, Virginia, and Dr. Margaret Vaughan Elizondo of San Diego.

Dr. Vaughan is survived by his wife, Iris F. Litt, M.D., Professor of Pediatrics at Stanford University School of Medicine and Director of the Division of Adolescent Medicine at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, whom he married in 1987; his former wife, Deborah Cloud Vaughan of Philadelphia, son Jonathan Vaughan (wife, Virginia) of Clinton, New York, daughters Sarah Vaughan Sayre (husband, Philip) of Westminster, Maryland and Joanna Vaughan of Philadelphia, step-sons William Litt of Fremont, California, and Robert Litt of Portland, Oregon, and grandchildren Joseph and Alexander Vaughan and Tobias and Hannah Sayre. Dr. Vaughan is also survived by his three brothers, Dr. Warren Vaughan (wife, Clarice Haylett Vaughan, M.D.) of Portola Valley, California, Dr. John Vaughan (wife, Marjorie Seybold, M.D.) of La Jolla, California, and Dr. David Vaughan (wife, Elizabeth Vaughan, M.D.) of Richmond, Virginia, and his mother-in-law, Bertha Figarsky of Carmel Valley, California. Dr. Vaughan resided with his wife, Dr. Litt, and their dalmatian Peri in Stanford and Carmel Valley, California.

A memorial service will be held early in the new year. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to the Children's Defense Fund, Planned Parenthood, or the Stanford University Center for Biomedical Ethics.