BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Howard Riley Raper was the son of a newspaper editor in his native city of Chillicothe, Ohio. He was a 1906 graduate of the Indiana Dental College, which is now the Indian University School of Dentistry. He then served on the faculty of the College until 1917, when he moved with his wife, Thelma, to the Southwest (at the age of 30) for health reasons. The move must have done him good, as he lived to be 91!

In 1909 Dr. Raper was the first educator to bring radiology into a dental school clinic for regular daily use, convincing his dean of the importance of x rays to the dental profession. Indiana University became the first dental school to install x-ray equipment. Dr. Raper was the first dental educator to hold the title of "Professor of Radiology,” and the first to teach radiology to dental students in a dental school curriculum.

In 1913 Dr. Raper published "Elementary and Dental Radiography,” the first textbook in oral radiology. In 1925, in cooperation with the Eastman Kodak Company, he developed the bitewing examination. He was an eloquent and prolific writer. "Man against Pain,” his history of anesthesia was published in 1945. He contributed "As I See It” columns in "Dental Survey” from 1950 to 1963.

Honors bestowed on Dr. Raper included the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Indiana University, the Callahan Medal from The Ohio State University, the Dentist of the Half Century Award (presented by the New Mexico State Dental Society in 1950), the Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of New Mexico, and the Award of Merit from the Horace Wells Society, named for the "father” of modern anesthesiology. Not a member of the American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, he was made an Honorary Fellow on March 17, 1958. He died on January 15, 1978 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Indiana University established the Howard R. Raper Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology Award with the cooperation of the Academy. It is co-sponsored by Dentsply/Rinn. The Award recognizes a graduate student with potential for an academic career in oral and maxillofacial radiology.