Maurice C. Pincoffs

Maurice C. Pincoffs was born in 1886 in Chicago, son of a Belgian mother and a Dutch father. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago, and studied medicine there for two years before transferring to Johns Hopkins School of Medicine here he received his medical degree. 

Dr. Pincoffs interned at the Presbyterian Hospital in Chicago under Dr. James B. Herrick, who first described coronary thrombosis. From 1913 to 1915, Dr. Pincoffs was resident physician at Baltimore City Hospitals. After that experience, he became an advocate of the elimination of politics from any program of care for indigent people.

After working in a lab at Hopkins for two years, he entered the Army in 1917 and was initially attached to the British Army, evacuating wounded soldiers from the front lines. In 1918, he rejoined an American Unit, becoming the medical officer with the 2nd Infantry Division.

After his return to Baltimore from the war, Dr. Pincoffs taught in the outpatient division of Hopkins. In 1921, he was appointed professor and head of the Department of Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, a position he held until 1954, when he left to organize the school’s Department of Preventative Medicine.

While at Maryland, he took a break to serve in WWII at the rank of Colonel. At nearly 60 years old, he became the commanding officer of the general hospital organized by the University of Maryland, landing with his unit in Australia in 1942. He went on to become the Chief of Professional Services in the Southwest Pacific. While there, be conducted a study on 400 patients to determine which malaria medicine was most effective.

After the war, Dr. Pincoff organized a program in Manila to prevent disease when the Americans re-entered the city. He set up a sanitation system, restored the health department, cleaned up the insect life and established special health measures for schools and hospitals.

Upon his return to Baltimore, he served as a consultant to the City’s Health Department, a member of the State Board of Health, Chair of the Committee on Medical Care in Maryland and as President of the Medical & Chirurgical Faculty.

Dr. Pincoffs was described as the elder statesman of his profession, a characterization which fit him in practice and appearance. His stately carriage, perhaps as a result of his military background ensured that he moved in a deliberate way.

He died after an operation for a ruptured aorta. Evaluating his condition, he diagnosed his ailment before entering the hospital, and “calmly cited the likelihood of a fatal outcome.”

Dr. Maurice C. Pincoffs died on December 8, 1960 at the hospital where he had spent much of his life.