Forrest Bird
| Dr. Forrest Bird | |
|---|---|
Forrest Bird (left) receiving the Presidential Citizens Medal from President George W. Bush (right)
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| Born |
June 9, 1921 Stoughton, Massachusetts |
| Died | August 2, 2015 (aged 94) Sagle, Idaho |
| Nationality | American |
| Fields | Pulmonology, Intensive Care |
| Education | Doctor of Science in Aeronautics (1977) Doctor of Medicine (1979) |
| Alma mater |
Northrop University (ScD) Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Campinas (MD) |
| Academic advisors | Andre Cournad |
| Known for | Bird Universal Medical Respirator (1958) |
| Notable awards | National Inventors Hall of Fame Presidential Citizens Medal National Medal of Technology and Innovation (2009) |
| Spouses | Mary Moran (m.1945) Dominique Deckers (m. 1988) Pamela Riddle (m. 1999) |
| Children | Catherine Bird |
Forrest Morton Bird (June 9, 1921 – August 2, 2015) was an American aviator, inventor, and biomedical engineer. He is best known for having created some of the first reliable mass-produced mechanical ventilators for acute and chronic cardiopulmonary care.
Bird was born in Stoughton, Massachusetts. Bird became a pilot at an early age due to the encouragement of his father, a World War I pilot, and from meeting Orville Wright at an early age. He performed his first solo flight at age 14. By age 16 he was working to obtain multiple major pilot certifications. Bird enlisted with the United States Army Air Corps, and entered active duty in 1941 as a technical air training officer due to his advanced qualifications. This rank, combined with the onset of World War II, gave him the opportunity to pilot almost every aircraft in service, including early jet aircraft and helicopters.
The newest models of aircraft were capable of exceeding altitudes at which humans can breathe, even with 100% oxygen supplementation, introducing the risk of hypoxia. Bird discovered that an oxygen regulator in a crashed German bomber he was ferrying back to the U.S. for study seemed to contain a pressure breathing circuit. He took the oxygen regulator home, studied it, and made it more functional. It became the standard design for high-altitude oxygen regulators for most military aircraft until recent time. Bird studied medicine " ... to understand the human body and its stress in flight". This led to him developing efficient respirators and ventilators.
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