John A. Prior

John A. Prior

John A. Prior (1913-1992) received his BA and MD degrees from The Ohio State University, where his father was professor of civil engineering. After internship at Grant Hospital he was a resident and fellow in pulmonary disease in Cincinnati, and soon became recognized in the area of chest disease. He was President of the Ohio Trudeau Society with research interest in tuberculosis and in histoplasmosis. Prior was not only chair of the committee that was responsible for the design of the health sciences library – renamed the John A. Prior Health Sciences Library in his honor on September 1, 1988 and renamed the John A. Prior Hall in 2011 after a two floor expansion – but also instrumental in the development of the Allied Medical Professions Program, the Pulmonary program, and the consolidation of the Ohio Tuberculosis Hospital at OSU. He was one of the motivating forces for OMEN (Ohio Medical Education Network) and for continuing education.

The Medical Heritage Center has an archival collection about Dr. Prior and the finding aid for that can be viewed at https://hsl.osu.edu/mhc/pdf/john-prior-md-collection.