Dr. Roswell Park

As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the National Cancer Act of 1971, Cancer Talk will highlight Roswell Park's role in driving advances in cancer treatment, research, prevention and education throughout the decades. Keep reading to learn more about the people, ideas and progress that have originated from America's first cancer center.
More than a century after his death, the legacy of Dr. Roswell Park remains strong. Today, Nov. 13, 2017, Buffalo Business First will induct him into the inaugural class of the Western New York Business Hall of Fame, which recognizes the region’s preeminent business leaders and innovators from the 1800s to the present. Here’s a brief introduction to this remarkable man.
The Pan-American Exposition opened in Buffalo in May of 1901 amid high spirits and a festive atmosphere. But events took a dark turn four months later when an assassin shot the fair’s most famous visitor — President William McKinley. People have wondered ever since whether the outcome might have been different if Dr. Roswell Park, a renowned and highly skilled surgeon, had performed the emergency surgery on McKinley. Here’s why he didn’t.

Buffalo was the eighth-largest city in the United States when it was selected as the site of the 1901 Pan-American Exposition. The “World’s Fair” was organized to promote commerce and showcase the cultures and achievements of countries in the Western Hemisphere.

Learn how the vision of one remarkable man led to the creation of the first institution in the world to focus exclusively on cancer.