Dr. C. Everett Koop was born in Brooklyn, New York, on October 14, 1916, graduated from Dartmouth College in 1937 and received his M.D. degree from Cornell Medical College in 1941. After serving an internship at the Pennsylvania Hospital, he pursued postgraduate training at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, and the Graduate School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, from which he received the degree of Doctor of Science (Medicine) in 1947. After promotions up the academic ladder, he was named Professor of Pediatric Surgery, School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania in 1959 and Professor of Pediatrics in 1971. He is presently the Elizabeth DeCamp McInerny Professor at Dartmouth.
A pediatric surgeon with an international reputation, Dr. Koop became Surgeon-in-Chief of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in 1948 and served in that capacity until he left academia in 1981. He was the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Pediatric Surgery from 1964-1976.
Dr. Koop was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health, U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) in March 1981 and was sworn in as Surgeon General on November 17, 1981. In addition, he was appointed Director of the Office of International Health in May 1982. As Surgeon General, Dr. Koop oversaw the activities of the 6,000 member PHS Commissioned Corps and advised the public on health matters such as smoking and health, diet and nutrition, environmental health hazards, and the importance of immunization and disease prevention. He also became the government's chief spokesman on AIDS. He resigned on October 1, 1989 but continues to educate the public about health issues through his writings, the electronic media, and as Senior Scholar of the C. Everett Koop Institute at Dartmouth.
The recipient of numerous honors and awards including 35 honorary doctorates, Dr. Koop was awarded the Denis Brown Gold Medal by the British Association of Paediatric Surgeons; the William E. Ladd Gold Medal of the American Academy of Pediatrics in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of pediatric surgery; the Order of the Duarte, Sanchez, and Mella, the highest award of the Dominican Republic, for his achievement in separating the conjoined Dominican twins; and a number of other awards from civic, religious, medical and philanthropic organizations. He was awarded the Medal of the Legion of Honor by France in 1980, and was inducted into the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 1982 and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow in 1987. In May 1983, Dr. Koop was awarded the Public Health Service Distinguished Service Medal in recognition of his extraordinary leadership of the U.S. Public Health Service. After his retirement, he was presented with the Surgeon General's Exemplary Service Medal and the Surgeon General's Medallion. In September, 1995 President Clinton presented him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award.
Dr. Koop is a member of the American Surgical Association, the Society of University Surgeons, the American Pediatric Surgical Association, the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine, the American Philosophical Society, and other professional societies in the U.S. and abroad. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Society of Behavioral Medicine, and a member of the American College of Preventive Medicine. Dr. Koop is Chairman of TIME LIFE MEDICAL, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Museum of Health and Medicine Foundation, Chairman of the National SAFE KIDS Campaign, Honorary Chairman of The Health Project, a Director of Biopure Corporation, and Chairman of its Scientific Advisory Board. He is on the Board of Directors of the National Health Network, the Foundation for Biomedical Research, and A.D.A.M. Software, Inc. and is an adviser to Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. and International Aid Inc. He serves as an international adviser to AIDS Care Education and Training (in the United Kingdom) and is a member of the National Advisory Boards of the International Health and Medical Film Festival, Inc. and the Texas Heart Institute.
Dr. Koop is the author of more than 230 articles and books on the practice of medicine and surgery, biomedical ethics and health policy. He was awarded an Emmy in 1991 in the News and Documentary category for "C. Everett Koop, M.D.," a five part series on health care reform. Two of the shows in this series were awarded Freddies in 1992: Best Film in the Category of Aging for "Forever Young" and Best Film in the Category of Family Dynamics for "Listening to Teenagers."
He is married to the former Elizabeth Flanagan and has three living children, Allen, Norman and Elizabeth Thompson, and seven grandchildren.