Joseph Warren Horton graduated with a degree in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1914. He became involved in the early development of electrical measurement devices, televised image transmission, and the detection of underwater sound transmission. In the mid-1930s he was appointed the first leader of the newly created Department of Biological Engineering at MIT and in this position he made major contributions to the application of physics to human physiology, in particular by increasing the safety of explosive inhalational anaesthetic agents.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
DunmoreMVCOn the Cutting Edge, A Great American Surgeon: Richard B. Cattell, MD. Plymouth, MA: Jones River Press, 1991.
2.
WoodbridgePD Letter to Mrs. Kaethe Lichard, Librarian, Wood Library Museum of Anesthesiology, dated 25 January 1968. Philip D Woodbridge, MD Archive, Wood Library Museum of Anesthesiology, Park Ridge, IL, USA.
3.
WoodbridgePDHortonJWConnellK. Prevention of ignition of anesthetic gases by static spark. Journal of the American Medical Association1939;112:740–4.
4.
WoodbridgePDHortonJWConnellK (op. cit. ref. 1): p. 740.
5.
HortonJWHazards in the use of explosive anesthetics. Bulletin of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists1940;8:295.
6.
HortonJWConductive flooring in surgeries. Modern Hospital1940;55:191–2.
7.
Combustible Anesthetics and Operating Room Explosions. Report of 45th Annual Meeting of National Fire Protection Association, May 12, 1941. Toronto: E R Squibb and Sons, 1941.
8.
BrittainJEScanning the past: Joseph Warren Horton. Proceedings of the Institute of Electrical Engineers1994;82:1470.
9.
HackmanW. Seek and Strike: Sonar, Anti-submarine Warfare and the Royal Navy 1914–1954.London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1984.
10.
ButlerGWMilitary History Annals of Nahant, Massachusetts. Nahant, MA: Nahant Historical Society, 1996.
11.
HortonP. Personal communication.
12.
WildesKLLindgrenNAA Century of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT, 1882–1982.Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1985.
13.
HortonJWVanraavenswayACHertzSThornGWThe clinical significance of electrical impedance determination in thyroid disorders. Endocrinology1936;20:831–7.
14.
LaheyFHProgress report: The accomplishments of science in medicine are varied and important. Technology Review1941;43:422–3.
15.
LaheyFHPostoperative complications of thyroidectomy. Surgical Clinics of North America (Lahey Clinic Number)1944: 491–500.
16.
HortonJWAdventures in a vacuum: Electrons at work and play. Technology Review1935;38:101–22.
17.
HackmanW (op. cit. ref. 9): p. 390.
18.
ChurchillWSThe Second World War, Vol. V.London: Cassell, 1952.
19.
WicksWF News release by Commander, US Navy, Chief Staff Officer, US Navy Sound Laboratory, New London, Connecticut, USA. Dr J Warren Horton, 1889–1967.
20.
HortonJWFundamentals of Sonar. Annapolis, MA: United States Naval Institute, 1959.
