(1892 - 1962)
William Thomas Peyton was born January 11, 1892, on a farm in Traverse County, Minnesota. In Traverse County, where practicing physicians were few, the Peyton family, as did many of their neighbors, possessed a "doctor book," which young William and his sister, Agnes, frequently consulted for medical problems at home. He helped his family on the farm and attended Wheaton High School, but eventually graduated from St. John's High School in Collegeville, Minnesota, in 1911. He went on to matriculate at St. John's College in Collegeville and entered medical school at the University of Minnesota in 1914. He served his internship at Minneapolis General Hospital (1918-1919) and received his M.D. degree in 1919.
Dr. Peyton had graduate training in anatomy at the University of Minnesota, receiving his Ph.D. in anatomy. His thesis was on the "Study of Developmental Cranial-Cerebral Topography as Determined by Orthoscopic Method." He had a fellowship in surgery at the University of Minnesota (1962), a fellowship in neurology at the Mayo Foundation in Rochester, Minnesota (1927), and returned to the University of Minnesota for a fellowship in surgery (1928-1929). He was awarded a Ph.D. in general surgery in 1930, with his thesis on "Dimensions and Growth of Palate in Normal Infant and in Infant with Gross Maldevelopment of Upper Lip and Palate, A Quantitative Study." It was obvious that his interest even then was on the development of the brain and head.
Dr. Peyton first joined the staff of the University of Minnesota as an Instructor in Anatomy in 1922. He was appointed Instructor of Surgery in 1929 and was promoted to Assistant Professor in 1930. In July 1937, as an Associate Professor of Surgery, he was appointed Director of the Division of Neurosurgery by Dr. O.H. Wangensteen, Professor and Director of the Department of Surgery. Thus, the Division of Neurosurgery was born at the University of Minnesota, with Dr. Peyton at its helm. Dr. Peyton's outstanding quality was his complete intellectual honesty in dealing with clinical problems and judging the results of his interventions. He was a wonderful teacher to the medical students and to the residents. Because of his background in anatomy, his approach to neurological and neurosurgical problems was neuroanatomical-pathophysiological in orientation. He treated his students and colleagues with respect and he was able to guide them with very concise but simple questions. Dr. Peyton, along with Dr. Harold O. Peterson and Dr. A.B. Baker, initiated a combined neuroradiological conference in 1938, which attracted many attendees and was the highlight of the weekly academic activities at the University of Minnesota. This neuroradiology conference is ongoing at the present time.
In 1960, Dr. Peyton retired as Director of the Division of Neurosurgery. Over the years, he trained many neurosurgeons, some of whom stayed in academic medicine, including Lyle French, Shelley Chou, Bo Sung Sim, Joe Galicich, and others who achieved distinct positions in the private sector.
Dr. Peyton was certified by The American Board of Surgery in 1937 and the American Board of Neurological Surgery in 1940. He was a member of the Western Surgical Association, the American Academy of Neurology, the Harvey Cushing Society (later known as the American Association of Neurological Surgeons), the Society of Neurological Surgeons, and the American Board of Neurological Surgery, of which he served as Vice-Chairman (1960-1961) and as Chairman (1961-1962).