Willius, Fredrick A. 1888-1972

Dr. Fredrick Arthur Willius (November 24, 1888 – October 19, 1972) was an American cardiologist and medical historian. He earned both his Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Medicine degrees from the University of Minnesota before joining the Mayo Clinic in 1917. At Mayo, Willius collaborated with Henry Stanley Plummer, through whom he was introduced to the emerging field of electrocardiography. This area would become central to Willius’s professional contributions. In 1923, Will and Charles Mayo appointed Willius as the head of the newly established Cardiology Department, a position he held until his retirement in 1945. During his tenure, he played a pivotal role in advancing the field of electrocardiography and contributed to several influential studies that significantly impacted cardiology and internal medicine. Notably, Willius and his colleagues were among the first to publish research establishing a definitive link between cigarette smoking and coronary artery disease, challenging prevailing scientific assumptions of the time. Beyond his clinical work, Willius was an active scholar in both cardiology and medical history. His first major historical publication, Cardiac Classics, co-authored with Mayo Clinic librarian Thomas E. Keys, compiled and analyzed historical texts on cardiac science, contextualizing them within the scientific understanding of their respective eras. His subsequent work, A History of the Heart and the Circulation, offered a comprehensive academic account of the evolving understanding of cardiovascular physiology and its implications for modern medicine. In recognition of his contributions to the history of medicine, the Mayo Clinic established the Willius Society, dedicated to the study and promotion of medical history.