History

Early history of the department

UW was founded in 1861 as a land grant university

The UW School of Medicine, founded in 1946, partners with Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho as the WWAMI educational region.

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University of Washington Denny Hall in the late 1800's

Lucien Morris, MD, Chief of the Division of Anesthesiology (within Department of Surgery) from 1954 – 1960

Dr. Morris introduced the Copper Kettle vaporizer, the first system to control the concentration of volatile anesthetics.

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black and white diagram of copper kettle

John Bonica, MD, Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology established in 1960

Dr. Bonica developed the study of pain and pain management, and established our department as a leader in pain medicine.

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black and white portrait of Dr. Bonica wearing eye glasses and dark suit with white collared shirt.

Thomas Hornbein, MD, Chair of the Department 1978 – 1994 and a prominent high altitude physiologist.

Dr. Hornbein was the part of the first expedition to successfully summit Mount Everest via the West Ridge in 1963.

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black and white photo of Dr. Hornbein wearing hooded winter jacket and oxygen tank while hiking on a snow covered mountain

Frederick Cheney, MD, Chair of the Department until the early 2000s.

An intensivist and expert pulmonary physiologist, Dr. Cheney is a founding member of the ASA Closed Claims Project.

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black and white photo of Dr. Cheney, wearing round eyeglasses, dark suit, white shirt and dark tie

Working to improve health for all

Our mission to improve the health of the public by educating and empowering the next generation of physicians and researchers.

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aerial view of University of Washington medical school campus on Portage Bay waterfront.

APM excels in patient care, education and research

Our department is renowned for expert clinical practice, inspired education and training programs, and innovative scientific research.

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Two female and one male anesthesiologist wearing pale yellow surgical gowns, caps and blue latex gloves handling medical equipment in the operating room