George E. Burch

George Edward Burch (1910-1986) was a leading American cardiologist during the middle part of the twentieth century. He was chairman of the Department of Medicine at Tulane University for many years. He is best known for his research in electrocardiography and vectorcardiography, and for his textbook, "Primer on Electrocardiography" (1945). He is also credited with the invention of the phlebomanometer, an instrument for measuring pressure in small veins. His research on the effects of smoking on heart disease made him an early anti-smoking activist.

References

*Biographical Note, "Finding Aid to the George Edward Burch Papers, 1926-1977" (web page of the National Library of Medicine, http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/manuscripts/ead/burch.html), accessed 9 May 2008.