Robinson D. Harley, MD, PhD

In Memoriam Robinson D. Harley, MD, PhD Robinson “Rob” D. Harley, MD, PhD, died at his Wilmington, Delaware, home on January 3, 2007, about 8 weeks before his 96th birthday. He was born on February 11, 1911, in Pleasantville, New Jersey and graduated from Rutgers in 1932 as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He earned his MD from the University of Pennsylvania in 1936 and interned at Philadelphia General Hospital. His residency in ophthalmology was at the Mayo Clinic, where he was also a fellow and later a staff consultant. In 1941 he received a PhD from the University of Minnesota. During World War II, he was a lieutenant colonel in both the U.S. Army and the Air Force, stationed at Gorgas Hospital in the Panama Canal Zone, where he was chief of ophthalmology and otolaryngology. While there, he volunteered to treat patients with leprosy and wrote what was for many years the classic paper on the eye findings in that disease. When the construction of the PanAm Highway was halted because it passed through regions where most of the natives were blind, he helped identify and treat the indigenous oncocerciasis, or river blindness. He received a commendation medal from the U.S. Army and the Legion of Merit and Vasco Nunez de Balboa awards from the Republic of Panama. In 1947 he joined his father in the practice of general ophthalmology in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It was during this time period that he established the first pediatric ophthalmology department at the pediatric hospital of Temple Medical School. In 1967 he left private practice to become a professor of ophthalmology (and later chairman) at Temple University. The ophthalmologist-in-chief at that time at Wills Eye Hospital, Arthur Keeney, MD, persuaded him to start a pediatric ophthalmology department there. Prior to Dr. Harley’s arrival, most pediatric ophthalmology exams and data collections were performed by orthoptists. Under Dr. Harley’s direction, residents and fellows learned the art and science of pediatric ophthalmology. During his active professional life, Dr. Harley volunteered for many teaching and service roles throughout the developing world. For many years he was the lead ophthalmologist on the hospital ship, Hope. He also volunteered often with Project Orbis and others. His example of giving and teaching to those less fortunate inspired many of his students to follow similar paths. In 1975 he was the editor of the textbook Pediatric Ophthalmology, now in its fifth edition. J AAPOS 2007;11:632-635. Copyright © 2007 by the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus. 1091-8531/2007/$35.00 ⫹ 0 doi:10.1016/j.jaapos.2007.09.007

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Robinson D. Harley, MD, PhD

Dr. Harley was a member of many professional organizations, including the American Ophthalmologic Society. He was a charter member and fourth president of AAPOS (1977-1978). In 1979 he gave the Costenbader lecture, on the subject of ocular motor nerve palsies in children. In 2000 the American Academy of Ophthalmology presented him the Outstanding Humanitarian Award. Dr. Harley was nearly always learning, reading, studying, or asking questions. His interests were much broader than ophthalmology. Certainly it was his insatiable curiosity that helped make him a great ophthalmologist, teacher, and friend. In his will Dr. Harley created a trust for the endowment of the Robinson D. Harley, MD, Chair in Pediatric Ophthalmology at the Alfred I. DuPont Children’s Hospital, in Wilmington, Delaware. At the ceremony in his honor for this bequest, he said, “I believe it is important to give back.” Dr. Harley is survived by his wife, Lucille, three sons, two daughters, eight grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. Joseph C. Calhoun, MD

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