William H. Danforth

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William Henry Danforth (born April 10, 1926 in St. Louis , Missouri ) is an American doctor. Since 1999, he has been Vice-Chairman of the Board of Trustees and Chancellor Emeritus of Washington University in St. Louis . Danforth is one of the earliest supporters of the Ansari X-Prize , which was donated by the X-Prize Foundation in St. Louis in 1996 .

After receiving a bachelor's degree from Princeton University , Danforth received his PhD from Harvard Medical School in 1951 . He completed his medical internship at Barnes Hospital and worked in the US Navy between 1952 and 1954 . He then returned to St. Louis to practice at Harvard Medical School and St. Louis Children's Hospital .

Danforth moved to Washington University Medical School in 1957 . In 1967 he became a professor of internal medicine, which has since been elevated to the rank of faculty. From 1965 to 1971 Danforth served as Vice Chancellor of the Medical Department and President of the Medical Center at Washington University. On July 1, 1971, he was appointed to succeed Thomas H. Eliot as the 13th director of Washington University and held this office until his retirement on June 30, 1995; he was followed by Mark S. Wrighton . He then served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Washington University for four years.

Danforth is a board director of the Danforth Foundation and a curator of the American Youth Foundation . He is Chairman of the Board of Directors of the St. Louis Christmas Carols Association (German: Association of Christmas Carolers of St. Louis) . He is also vice chairman of the board of directors of the Barnes Jewish Hospital (German: Barnes Jewish Hospital) . Since 1982 he has been a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science . He is also a board member of Ralston Purina Company , Ralcorp and BJC Health System , all three of which are headquartered in St. Louis.

In February 2006, Washington University's Hilltop Campus was renamed Danforth Campus in honor of Danforth for his contribution to the educational establishment . His wife Elizabeth died of cancer in late March 2005 at the age of 75. The two had been married since September 1950.

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