Thomas Rogers Forbes papers

Thomas Rogers Forbes was born in New York City on January 5, 1911. He earned both his 1933 bachelor's degree and his 1937 doctorate at the University of Rochester. Forbes taught anatomy at Johns Hopkins University, 1937-1942. During World War II, he interrupted his teaching to serve on the Committee on Medical Research of the Office of Scientific Research and Development. In 1945, he was appointed instructor in anatomy at the Yale School of Medicine. He served as an assistant professor from 1946 to 1951, associate professor from 1951-1962, and attained the rank of professor in 1962. He served concurrently as assistant and then associate dean from 1948 to 1969, while also chairing the Committee on Admissions. Forbes was appointed Ebenezer K. Hunt Professor of Anatomy in 1977. In 1979, he became professor emeritus and senior research scholar in the history of medicine.

Forbes made fundamental contributions to reproductive endocrinology as a scientist and also won recognition as a medical historian. With Charles W. Hooker in 1946, Forbes developed an accurate method to measure minute quantities of progesterone. The Hooker Forbes bioassay became a standard method in endocrinology. Over the next thirty years, Forbes and his collaborators contributed substantially to the understanding of progesterone's role in pregnancy. His scholarly achievements included several books on early English forensic medicine. His books on early medical jurisprudence reflect personalities, as well as the standards of expertise then extant in the field. Forbes was an innovative teacher, producing films to teach medical history to students.

He married Helen Frances Allen in 1934. They had two sons, Thomas R. Jr., and William M. Thomas Rogers Forbes died in Branford, Connecticut on November 13, 1988.