Ira Rutkow, MD, PhD ’81, MPH ’78

Ira Rutkow, MD, PhD ’81, MPH ’78, is a retired surgeon and author whose current professional activities are focused on the study of American medical history. After graduating from Union College (NY) in 1970, he earned his medical degree from St. Louis University. While completing training as a general surgeon, Rutkow also received a master’s degree and a doctorate in public health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (formerly the School of Hygiene and Public Health). 

Rutkow is the author of eight books, most recently Empire of the Scalpel: The History of Surgery (Scribner, 2022), a New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice. His other works include Seeking the Cure: A History of Medicine in America (2010); James A. Garfield (2006), part of Times Books' American Presidents series edited by Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr; Bleeding Blue and Gray: Civil War Surgery and the Evolution of American Medicine (2005); American Surgery: An Illustrated History (1998); Surgery: An Illustrated History (1993), named a New York Times Notable Book of the Year; and a two volume bibliography, The History of Surgery in the United States (1992 and 1988). In addition to his historical writings, he has edited numerous medical textbooks, including Socioeconomics of Surgery (1989), and authored journal articles and book chapters on various surgical topics. 

Rutkow is a recipient of the American Medical Writers Association Medical Book Award (1998) and the Fletcher Pratt Literary Award of the Civil War Round Table of New York (2005). He has been inducted into The Johns Hopkins University Society of Scholars (2003) and awarded Union College's Founders' Medal (2007) as well as St. Louis University School of Medicine's Alumni Merit Award (2015). 

Rutkow and his wife divide their time between New York City and a farm in the Hudson Valley.