Edmunds Grey Dimond
Edmunds Grey Dimond (December 8, 1918 – November 3, 2013) was an American cardiologist, medical educator, and advocate for U.S.–China relations. He founded the University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC) School of Medicine and served as president of the American College of Cardiology.[1]
Early life and education
Dimond was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the only child of Gertrude and Edmunds Grey Dimond, Sr., a chemist with Eli Lilly. He was raised in Winona, Mississippi, and later moved with his family to Terre Haute, Indiana.[1] He studied pharmaceutical chemistry at Purdue University before entering the Indiana University School of Medicine in 1941. His interest in cardiology developed while reading to a blind cardiologist.[1]
After earning his M.D. in 1944, Dimond interned at Indiana Medical Center and then served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps at Tokyo General Hospital following World War II.[1] After returning to the United States, he completed a year as a house officer at Indiana University, then became a clinical fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital under Dr. Paul Dudley White, who became a lifelong mentor.[1]
Academic and medical career
In 1950, Dimond joined the faculty at the University of Kansas Medical School, where he directed the cardiovascular laboratory and became Chair of the Department of Medicine in 1953.[1] During a 1956 sabbatical, he served as a Fulbright professor in the Netherlands and lectured across Asia, including India, Thailand, Taiwan, Japan, and the Philippines.[1]
In 1960, he joined the Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation in La Jolla, California, as Director of the Institute for Cardiopulmonary Diseases. He also organized continuing education programs such as the Cardiology Course for the Consultant in partnership with the American College of Cardiology (ACC), eventually serving as ACC president from 1961 to 1962.[1] He was involved with the development of international circuit courses, the fundraising and establishment of Heart House, and editorial duties with the American Journal of Cardiology and the ACCEL audiotape series.[1]
UMKC School of Medicine
In 1968, Dimond returned to Kansas City to help establish the UMKC School of Medicine. He became its first Provost and introduced a six-year combined B.A./M.D. program that emphasized early clinical experience and integration with the liberal arts.[1] He continued to serve the university after retirement in 1983 as a special consultant to the chancellor.[1]
Work in China and international relations
In 1971, Dimond and Dr. Paul Dudley White were part of the first delegation of American cardiologists invited to visit the People's Republic of China in 25 years.[1] With his third wife, Mary Clark Dimond, he co-founded the Edgar Snow Memorial Foundation. The couple made more than two dozen trips to China and maintained relationships with Chinese medical institutions.[1] He lectured for the Chinese Medical Association and served on the Committee on Scholarly Communication with the People's Republic of China. Dimond also helped facilitate UMKC’s affiliations with Shanghai Second Medical College and Harbin Medical University.[1]
Publications
Dimond published 16 books during his career, including:
- Essays from an Unfinished Physician: Lessons from People, Patients, and Life (2000)[1]
- Inside China Today: A Western View (1984)[1]
Personal life
Dimond married Audrey Stone in 1945. They lived abroad for his work, including time in Japan and the Netherlands, and had two daughters. The family moved to La Jolla in 1960. Their marriage ended, and Audrey later married Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss), becoming Audrey Geisel.
He later married Mary Clark Dimond. After her death in 1983, Dimond continued leading the Edgar Snow Memorial Foundation. In 1994, he donated his modernist home, "Diastole," to UMKC for university and community use.[1]
Honors and legacy
In 1970, Dimond received the American College of Cardiology’s Gifted Teacher Award. He was awarded the UMKC Chancellor’s Medal in 2011 as Provost Emeritus of Health Sciences.[1] The E. Grey Dimond, M.D. Program in International Medicine and the Take Wing Award were named in his honor at UMKC.[1] He died on November 3, 2013.
References
- https://finding-aids.library.umkc.edu/agents/people/603
- https://www.diastole.org/e-grey-dimond-memorial-tribute
- https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202108/21/WS61206993a310efa1bd66a41b.html
- https://edgarsnowfoundation.org/about/foundation-history/
This article "Edmunds Grey Dimond" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Edmunds Grey Dimond. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
