Inductees in Medicine & Health Care

Warren Alpert (1920-2007)
Inducted in 2014

Warren Alpert, 1920-2007, founder and late chairman of Warren Equities, Inc., and the founder of the Providence-based Warren Alpert Foundation, was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts on December 2, 1920. The son of Jewish immigrants from Lithuania, he was the youngest of the five children of Goodman and Tena (Horowitz) Alpert.

Mr. Read more >
Dr. Stanley M. Aronson
Inducted in 1997

Dr. Aronson, of Rehoboth, MA, is an internationally acclaimed medical educator and researcher, founding Dean of the Brown University Medical School, co-founder of Hospice Care of Rhode Island and the Interfaith Health Care Ministries, prolific author and editor of the Rhode Island Medical Journal, and a person key to the establishment of diagnostic laboratory test for Tay Sachs Disease and Muscular Dystrophy.

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Marion F. Avarista
Inducted in 1988

Ms. Avarista was founder of the Traveler's Aid Runaway Youth Project nand developer of the Travelers Aid Medical Van providing free service for the homeless in Providence. A Cranston resident, she is one of those most responsible for the growth and development of the Traveler's Aid Society in RI and is a very active civic and comunity leader.

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Dr. Alex M. Burgess (1886-)
Inducted in 1971

Dr. Alex Burgess was the Director of Medical Education at Miriam Hospital. He has been considered the dean of Rhode Island's medical community. He was known as a specialist in internal medicine, and gained fame as a diagnostician. Read more >
Dr. Joseph E. Cannon (1911-1989)
Inducted in 2010

Joseph Cannon was born in Providence in 1911, the son of General Francis Cannon and Mary (Milligan) Cannon. He attended Technical High School and graduated from Brown University in 1932. He chose a career in medicine, and in 1936 he earned his degree cum laude from Tufts Medical School. Dr. Read more >
Dr. Walter Channing (1786-1876)
Inducted in 2012

Dr. Walter Channing (April 15, 1786 - July 27, 1876) was born in Newport, the younger brother of the Reverend William Ellery Channing. Like his brother he studied at Harvard and made his career in Boston, but as a noted physician and professor of medicine. After graduating from the medical school of the University of Pennsylvania in 1809, he became Harvard’s first Professor of Obstetrics and Medical Jurisprudence and, from 1819 to 1847, the dean of its medical school. Read more >
Dr. Charles V. Chapin (1856-1941)
Inducted in 1966

Dr. Charles V. (Charles Value) Chapin, 1856-1941, was an internationally renowned pioneer in the field of public health and epidemiology, and served as Providence's superintendent of health from 1884 to 1932. During his tenure he published a medical treatise entitled Sources and Modes of Infection, which was regarded by contemporary scientists as one of the "most complete and most impartial documentary statements of our knowledge concerning the life and virulence of pathogenic microbes in the external world. Read more >
Dr. Aram V. Chobanian
Inducted in 1992

Dr. Chobanian was a Pawtucket born graduate of Brown University and Harvard Medical School. He was responsible for establishing and directing Boston Univerity's world renowned Cardiovascular Center. Internationally respected, he has been a Visitng Professsor at the Italian Hypertension Society, the Danish hypertension Society, and Hong Kong University. Read more >
Dr. John Clarke (1609-1676)
Inducted in 1997

Clarke, John, 1609-1676

Dr. Clarke was a physician, Baptist clergyman, and Statesman. As the Colony’s agent in England he secured a liberal charter for Rhode Island in 1663 from King Charles II. He became one of Rhode Island’s foremost advocates in the separation of Church and State. Read more >
Dr. Frances P. Conklin
Inducted in 1991

Dr. Conklin became a distinguished radiologist and long-time comunity leader who became the first woman President of the Providence Medical Society. She was the only woman member of the RI Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline, and named RI's 'Woman Physician of 1989' by the Rhode Island Medical Woman's Asociation. She received the pretigious Charles Hill Award from the RI Medical Society and served a fourth term as Treasurer of that Organization. Read more >
Kathleen S. Connell
Inducted in 2010

Kathleen Sullivan Connell was born in Newport, Rhode Island, the only daughter of Lawrence and Margaret Sullivan. She attended St. Mary’s School and St. Catherine Academy, graduated magna cum laude from Salve Regina University with a BS in Nursing, and then earned a master’s degree in International Relations from Salve. Read more >
Dr. Anthony Corvese (1899-)
Inducted in 1976

Dr. Anthony Corvese, a veteran physician, was the first Italian-American to intern at Rhode Island Hospital. He was instrumental in organizing the first free children's dental clinic in the state, he also established a gynecological and surgical clinic at The House of the Good Shepard. He was also a medical pioneer in the use of spinal anesthesia. Read more >
Reverend Angelo D'Agostino, S.J., M.D. (1926-2006)
Inducted in 2009

Father Angelo D'Agostino, 1926-2006 was born on January 26, 1926 in Providence, Rhode Island and died at work in Nairobi, Kenya on November 20, 2006. Raised in the Mount Pleasant section of Providence, Angelo was educated at Holy Ghost School, LaSalle Academy, and St. Michael's College in Vermont. He received both an M. Read more >
Dr. Manuel da Silva (1926-)
Inducted in 2010

Dr. Manuel da Silva was born on September 5, 1926 in the village of Caviâo, Vale de Cambra in continental Portugal. After completing high school in Portugal, he emigrated to Brooklyn, New York with his mother and brother in January, 1946 to join his father, who was an American citizen. Young Manuel studied the English language intensively, and in 1948 he entered Washington Square College of New York University graduating with a biology degree in 1952. Read more >
Paulina Kellogg Wright Davis (1813-1876)
Inducted in 2003

Davis, Paulina W. (Paulina Wright), 1813-1876

Paulina Kellogg Wright Davis was born in Bloomfield, New York on August 7, 1813, the daughter of Captain Ebenezer Kellogg and Polly Saxon. After the death of both parents, Paulina was raised by a strict orthodox Presbyterian aunt. After a brief immersion with religion, Paulina married Francis Wright, a wealthy Utica merchant, in 1833. Read more >
Dr. Eric Denoff (1913-1982)
Inducted in 1994

Dr. Denhoff, a native of Providence, was a pediatric neurologist and leader in advancements for children with disabilities. With Margaret “Poggy” Langdon, Dr. Denhoff established Meeting Street to provide integrated educational, therapeutic, and developmental services to children with disabilities and developmental delays. Read more >
Dr.Solomon Drowne (1753-1834)
Inducted in 2000

Dr. Solomon Drowne and Senator Theodore Foster (1752-1828), friends from their student days at Brown, collaborated in a fascinating way to shape the early history of the town of Foster. Set off from Scituate in 1781 and named for Theodore Foster, this western Rhode Island community became the home of both men when physician Drowne returned to Rhode Island from his far-flung travels in 1801 and Foster left the United States Senate in 1803. Both men had long talked of establishing themselves in a setting conducive to contemplating and pursuing their respective professional interests in an idyllic rural retreat. Read more >
Congressman Aimé Joseph Forand (1895-1972)
Inducted in 1970

Aimé Forand served in Washington for twenty-two years as a Congressman from Rhode Island. Through his diligent and persistent efforts to secure medical aide for the aged, he earned the title "Father of Medicare."
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Governor Lucius F. C. Garvin, M.D. (1841-1922)
Inducted in 2008

Garvin, Lucius F. C. (Lucius Fayette Clark), 1841-1922

Lucius Fayette Clark Garvin’s life was one of compassion, political struggle, tragedy and service to all. Born in Knoxville, Tennessee on November 21, 1841 to educated parents, his father, James, died when Lucius was only four and his mother, Sarah, a school teacher moved to Greensboro, North Carolina where she remarried and bore two more children. Read more >
Dr. Ramon Guiteras (1858-1917)
Inducted in 2009

Guiteras, Ramon, 1858-1917

Certainly the most prominent person of Latin American heritage at the turn of the 20^th century was Ramon Guiteras, a native of Bristol. He was the son of a prominent Cuban banker with financial ties to Bristol’s DeWolf family. Because the DeWolf’s maintained substantial investments in Cuba, family connections followed those of a financial nature. Ramon Guiteras, Sr. Read more >
Dr. David Connolly Hall (1875-1972)
Inducted in 2004

Dr. David Connolly Hall was the bronze medalist in the 800-meter run at the 1900 Paris Olympics. Dr. Hall, a native of Quebec and a student at Brown University (Class of 1901), became Rhode Island’s first Olympic medalist. Read more >
Dr. Milton W. Hamolsky (1921-2014)
Inducted in 1996

Hamolsky, Milton W., 1921-2014

Dr. Hamolsky of Providence was the first full time Physician-In-Chief of Medicine at Rhode Island Hospital and a Professor of Medical Science at Brown University where he helped develop the Brown University Medical School. He was the first Chief Administrative Officer of the Board of Medical Licensure & Discipline for the State of Rhode Island. Read more >
Merrill Hassenfeld (1918-1979)
Inducted in 1982

Merill Hassenfeld, 1918-1979, was Chief Executive Officer of Hasbro Industries. He was an active leader of the Jewish people and campaign chairman of the United Way of Southern New England.He was president of the Jewish Federation of Rhode Island, a founder of the Jewish Community Center and a director of the Miriam Hospital. Read more >
James V. Healey
Inducted in 2013

Jim Healey was a two-sport all-state athlete in high school and the sparkplug of a South Providence sandlot baseball team that won five age-graded championships from 1953 to 1957.

A fierce competitor in collegiate and professional sports, Jim was noted for his “hustle.” Fortunately for those whose cause he championed through life, that hustle and persistence only intensified.

Jim Healey’s unprecedented accomplishments over a 45-year career in the field of developmental disabilities made him one of the nation’s leading pioneers in that arena. Read more >
Dr. Walter F. Jusczvk (1918-1997)
Inducted in 2000

Walter Jusczvk was a star pitcher at Brown and played in the minor leagues in 1941. The Warwick, RI, native and Providence Journal Honor Roll Boy is the only Brown pitcher to defeat Providence College four times running. He was drafted by the Brooklyn Dodgers, only to have his career interupted by World War II. He was intimately involved in aspects of Brown life, working as a recruiter, and regularly supporting athletics and alumni activities at Brown. Read more >
George Katz
Inducted in 1995

Mr. Katz, formerly of East Providence, became the first Executive Director of the Big Brothers of Rhode Island, and served as Director of Development for Big Brothers of America for ten years. He travelled extensively throughout the U.S. Read more >
Dr. John William Keefe (1863-1935)
Inducted in 2009

Dr. John William Keefe (1863-1935) was a surgeon of great skill and compassion who founded the John W. Keefe Surgery at 262 Blackstone Boulevard in Providence. Although a successful physician in both private practice and as a consulting surgeon at several hospitals, it was his dream to build and operate a small institution where the faults and inefficiencies of general hospitals with their many wards, doctors and nurses would be replaced by a professional efficiency combined with a personal touch. Read more >
Dr. William W. Keen (1837-1932)
Inducted in 2005

Keen, William W. (William Williams), 1837-1932

Dr. William W. Keen (1837-1932) of Swedish and Dutch extraction, was a man of stern principles and unwavering convictions and a diligent worker in the Calvinist tradition. Read more >
Dr. Joseph H. Ladd (1876-1974)
Inducted in 1969

Dr. Joseph Ladd was first superintendent of the Exeter School for the Mentally Handicapped, of which he was superintendent for more than fifty years, until his retirement in 1956. He gained a national reputation in the field of intellectual disabilities for his vision and improved methods of care. Read more >
Margaret Langdon-Kelly
Inducted in 1997

Mrs. Langdon-Kelly, of Little Compton, was affectionately known to all as “Poggy”. She, along with Dr. Eric Denhoff, founded Rhode Island’s famed Meeting Street School, a world renowned institution providing early education as well as medical intervention for special needs children. Read more >
Charles J. McDonald, M.D.
Inducted in 2013

Charles McDonald, MD, is the founding chairman of the Brown University Medical School Department of Dermatology and Physician-in-Chief of the Department of Dermatology at Rhode Island Hospital. An internationally recognized dermatologist, Dr. McDonald has distinguished himself as a clinician, researcher, and educator and as a leader in his community and beyond.

Dr. Read more >
Dr. Hubert A. McGuirl (1908-1977)
Inducted in 1971

Dr. Hubert McGuirl, 1908-1977, was a Providence native who was the only Rhode Islander to serve as national President of the American Dental Association. He organized the New England Council on Insurance, and later the New England Council on Dental Health and Care. As a consultant to the U. Read more >
Dr. Albert L. Midgely
Inducted in 1970

Dr. Albert Midgely was a pioneer in dental education. A prominent oral surgeon, he became a Founder, Secretary, and President of the American College of Dentistry. After serving on the Rhode Island Board of Dental Examiners for thirty-five years. Read more >
Rev. Charles E. Millard, Jr. (1914-2006)
Inducted in 2007

The Reverend Charles E. Millard, M.D. excelled in many walks of life--as an athlete in his youth, as a noted family physician, husband, parent, author, professor of medicine, and civic leader in his prime, and as a deacon of the Roman Catholic Church after the death of his beloved wife Mildred Lowney Millard. Read more >
Dr. Blas Moreno (1928-2011)
Inducted in 1983

Dr. Blas Moreno, 1928-2011, became a resident of Rhode Island after emigrating from Cuba in 1954. He fashioned a distinguished career as a leading physician, community leader, and philanthropist, and has been at the forefront of developing medical care programs for the National Guard of the United States, serving as the State Air Surgeon for Rhode Island beginning in 1977. Read more >
Dr. Mary C. Mulvey
Inducted in 1993

Dr. Mulvey, a nationally recognized expert in the problems of the elderly and concerns of gerontology who now makes Rhode Island her home, has been a pioneer advocate for older adults and successful in enacting legislation to establish a State Agency on Aging. She served as its’ administrator until returning to the Providence School Department, and later became the City’s Supervisor on Adult Education, after being named to the Federal Council on Aging. She is President Emeritus of The National Senior Citizens Education And Research Center Inc. Read more >
James Joseph O'Connell, M.D. (1948-)
Inducted in 2009

Dr. James J. O'Connell, a native of Newport and a graduate of Harvard Medical School, has truly made a difference in the world of medicine. Since 1985, when he helped found the Boston Health Care For The Homeless Program, he has worked tirelessly to bring medical care and dignity to the less fortunate. Read more >
Dr. William T. Osmanski (1915-1996)
Inducted in 1978

Dr. William T. Osmanski, 1915-1996, a Providence native, was a football star. A fullback, he was All-American at Holy Cross College and an All-Pro with the Chicago Bears, where he lead the National Football League in yardage in 1939. Read more >
Dr. Usher Parsons (1788-1868)
Inducted in 2002

Parsons, Usher, 1788-1868

Dr. Usher Parsons of Providence was Rhode Island’s foremost physician of the early 19^th century. Born in Alfred, Maine, the youngest of nine children, Parsons had little formal schooling, but began the study of medicine as an apprentice to physicians in Alfred and Boston. Parsons was licensed to practice by the Massachusetts Medical Society in 1812 and immediately gained valuable experience as a surgeon for Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry in the Battle of Lake Erie (1813). Read more >
Dr. John O. Pastore (1942-)
Inducted in 2007

Pastore, John O. (John Orlando), 1942-

Dr. John O. Pastore joins his illustrious father as one of the rare father-son combinations to merit membership in the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame. Read more >
Oliver G. Pratt (1896-)
Inducted in 1976

Oliver G. Pratt was Superintendent of Rhode Island Hospital for many years. He received citations from many national health organizations and was considered one of the foremost administrators of hospitals in the nation.
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Dr. Isaac Ray (1807-1881)
Inducted in 2002

>Dr. Isaac Ray (1807-1881) is one of the fathers of American psychiatry. A native of Beverly, Massachusetts, Ray graduated from Phillips-Andover Academy and attended Bowdoin College in Maine, but left prior to graduation. Returning to Beverly, Ray served a medical apprenticeship to a local doctor, then enrolled at Harvard Medical School, and eventually concluded his studies at the Medical School of Maine, receiving his degree in 1827 at age twenty. Read more >
Barbara H. Roberts, M.D.
Inducted in 2006

Dr. Barbara Roberts, an eminent cardiologist with a private practice, is truly a legend in Rhode Island. She was the first woman to be accepted into the Gorlin cardiology fellowship program at the Brigham and Women's Hospital, a Harvard University Medical School Teaching Hospital, and the first woman to practice adult cardiology in Rhode Island. She is known as an astute clinician and a deeply caring healer. Read more >
Dr. Americo A. Savastano
Inducted in 1970

Dr. Americao Savastano was Chief of Orthopedic Surgery at Rhode Island Hospital. He served for many years as medical consultant to his alma-mater, University of Rhode Island. He was a specialist in the medical aspects of sports, and he organized and conducted orthopedic clinics in many parts of the world. Read more >
William F. Sayles (1824-1894)
Inducted in 1966

William Francis Sayles, 1824-1894, was a prominent Pawtucket, Rhode Island industrialist who founded the W.F. & F.C. Read more >
Barbara-Jeanne "BJ" Seabury (1927-2002)
Inducted in 1994

Barbara-Jeanne Seabury, a native of Cranston who resides in Wakefield, was the Director of Rhode Island Hospital's Child Life Department from 1976 to her retirement in 1993. She was a nationally recognized pioneer in the revolutionizing of child care in the hospital environment, and a very active member of the steering committee for Hasbro Children's Hospital, as well as a a prolific author, teacher and administrator. She continued to serve a myriad of activities concerning the welfare of children with health problems. Read more >
Archibald & Ida Silverman (1880-1967)
Inducted in 1971

Archibald Silverman, 1880-1967, was a Providence jewelry manufacturer, and civic leader for many years.&His wife, Ida Silverman was a crusader for the establishment of the State of Israel and played important role in fund-raising for Rhode Island hospitals. The Silvermans aided in building nearly one hundred synagogues throughout the world. Read more >
Dr. Firorindo A. Simeone (1908-1990)
Inducted in 1973

Dr. Fiorindo A. Simeone was Chief of Surgery at The Miriam Hospital and gained worldwide recognition for his work with artificial organs. He performed the first open-heart surgery in the Middle East. Read more >
Dr. Edwin M. Snow (1820-1888)
Inducted in 2004

Dr. Edwin M. Snow (1820-1888) was Providence’s first superintendent of health and
chief statistician from 1856 to 1884.

Dr. Read more >
Noreen Stonor Drexel (1922-2012)
Inducted in 2015

Born the Honorable Noreen Stonor in Henley-on-Thames in England, Mrs. Drexel was the youngest child of Lord and Lady Camoys of Stonor Park, England. She came to Newport as a teenager with her mother, Mildred Sherman, on the eve of the Second World War. She was a descendant of the state’s founder, Roger Williams, and of Nicholas Brown, a founder of Brown University as well as eight saints of the Roman Catholic Church. Read more >
Dr. Mary T. Thorpe
Inducted in 1969

Dr. Mary Thorp was an educator, lecturer, and author, and became a First Distinguished Professor at Rhode Island College. She began her teaching career in Hopkington, then taught in Westerly, and served as Principal in Jamestown. A former director of Henry Barnard School and President of the Rhode Island Tuberculosis and Respiratory Disease Association. Read more >
J. Arthur Trudeau
Inducted in 1984

The late J. Arthur Trudeau was a pioneer in the support of those with intellectual disabilities in Rhode Island and across the nation. With the assistance of former LaSallle Academy classmate Congressman John E. Fogarty, he brought about legislation requiring R. Read more >
Dr Vincent J. Turco (1916-1999)
Inducted in 1985

Dr. Vincent Turco, 1916-1999, was one of the world's foremost authorities on treatment of clubfoot. He served as Chief of Orthopedic Surgery at St. Francis Hospital in Hartford, CT, and Assistant Clinical Professor at Yale University and the University of Connecticut Medical Schools. Read more >
Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse (1754-1846)
Inducted in 2012

Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse, March 4, 1754 - October 2, 1846, was born in Newport to Timothy Waterhouse, a chair maker, and his wife Hannah.

At age twenty-one he left Newport to study medicine in Europe. After his return to the United States in 1782, he joined the faculty of the new Harvard Medical School as one of its first three professors. Read more >
Earl C. Whelden
Inducted in 1977

Earl C. Whelden ran the Shriner's Circus at Narragansett Park for years, the proceeds from which went to the Shriner's Hospitals for physically handicapped children of all races and creeds. He also established the Palestine Temple Shriner's 22-bed Hodges-Lawton unit at Rhode Island Hospital for crippled children and ran an annual Christmas party for unfortunate youngsters at the Elk's Auditorium. His humanitarian efforts on behalf of needy children were his prime interest in life. Read more >