John Ross Callahan

John R. Callahan (1853 – February 12, 1918) was a pioneer in the field of dentistry and particularly dental research in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Born in Hillsboro, Ohio in 1853, Callahan received his dental degree from the Philadelphia Dental College in 1877. He practiced dentistry in San Francisco for two years before returning to Hillsboro where he practiced until 1890. He then moved to Cincinnati, Ohio joining the practice of Dr. C. R. Taft.

In 1884 he was selected Secretary of the Ohio State Dental Society and served until 1890. In 1892 he was elected President of the Society and was a member of the Board of Directors from 1894 to 1918. He served as President of the Cincinnati Dental Society 1906–1907.

His major research was in diseases of the dental pulp. He also contributed papers on materials and methods for filling root canals; notably, chloro-percha. His original contribution of the use of sulfuric acid for opening root canals was significant at the time as were his investigations on dental materials and patient management problems.

Callahan was a member of the Institute on Dental Research of the National Dental Association. The Jarvie Fellowship Medal was awarded to him in 1917. He died on February 12, 1918.

The Callahan Memorial Award Commission To perpetuate Callahan's memory, the Ohio State Dental Society in 1920 established the Callahan Memorial Award Commission which was given two charges. First, a bronze bust of Callahan sculpted by Frederick C. Hibbard of Chicago was placed on the grounds of the Cincinnati General Hospital – in 1937 it was moved to the College of Dentistry of the Ohio State University. Second, the awarding of an Annual Callahan Memorial Award Medallion, recognizing excellence in the profession. The names of the recipients are inscribed on a bronze plaque displayed in the Ohio Dental Association headquarters.

Since 1941, the Callahan Memorial Commission has also given a scholarship prize to the highest ranking dental graduate from both Case Western Reserve University and The Ohio State University. The names of the recipients are inscribed on bronze plaques displayed in these institutions.

Callahan Memorial Awardees 1922 – James Leon Williams 1923 – Frederick B. Noyes 1924 – Clarence J. Grives 1925 – Edward C. Rosenow 1926 – Percy R. Howe 1927 – Howard R. Raper 1928 – William J.Gies 1929 – Russel W. Bunting 1930 – Rodrigues Ottolengui 1931 – Weston A. Price 1932 – Herman Prinz 1933 – Homer C. Brown 1934 – U. Garfield Rickert 1935 – E.V. McCollum 1936 – C.N. Johnson 1937 – Harvey J. Burkhart 1938 – Joseph L.T. Appleton 1939 – Clarence O. Simpson 1940 – Arthur H. Merritt 1941 – Edward H. Hatton 1942 – Marcus L. Ward 1943 – Arno B. Luckhardt 1944 – J. Ben Robinson 1946 – James Roy Blayney 1947 – Edgar D. Coolidge 1948 – Herman Becks 1949 – Frederick S. McKay 1950 – Thomas J. Hill 1951 – Kurt H. Thoma 1952 – Holly Broadbent 1953 – Paul C. Kitchin 1954 – Charles F. Bodecker 1955 – Joseph L. Bernier 1956 – Edward C. Stafne 1957 – Allan G. Brodie 1958 – George C. Paffenbarger 1959 – Henry Trendley Dean 1960 – Paul H. Jeserich 1961 – Paul O. Pedersen 1962 – Clyde H. Schuyler 1963 – Francis A. Arnold 1964 – Hamilton Robinson 1965 – Herbert Cooper 1966 – Paul E. Boyle 1966 – Wendell D. Postle 1967 – Wilton M. Krogman 1968 – Ralph W. Phillips 1969 – Harold Hillenbrand 1970 – Carl O. Boucher 1971 – Donald Kerr 1972 – Hans H. Friehofer 1972 – Robert B.Shira 1973 – Philip E. Blackerby 1974 – Maynard K. Hine 1975 – Seymour J. Kreshover 1976 – Rafael L. Bowen 1977 – Lindsey D. Pankey 1978 – Robert J. Nelsen 1979 – Joseph F. Volker 1980 – Rex Ingraham 1981 – Wallace D. Armstrong 1982 – Louis J. Baume 1982 – Judson C.Hickey 1983 – William G. Shafer 1984 – Nelson W. Rupp 1985 – David B.Scott 1986 – Morgan L. Allison 1987 – Harry Lyons 1988 – Gardner Foley 1989 – Wilmer B. Eames 1990 – Charles McCullum 1991 – Alvin L. Morris 1992 – Julian B. Woelfel 1993 – D. Walter Cohen 1994 – Paul M. Flory 1995 – Harald Lõe 1996 – William R. Proffit 1997 – Irwin D. Mandel 1998 – Gordon J. Christensen 1998 – Samuel D. Harris 1999 – Arthur S. Dugoni 2000 – Burton C. Borgelt 2001 – Harold C. Slavkin 2002 – Lawrence H. Meskin 2003 – Clifton O. Dummett 2004 – Linda C. Niessen 2004 – P.I. Brañemark 2005 – Robert J. Genco 2006 – Jeanne Sinkford 2007 – Bernard Machen 2008 – Roy Page 2009 – Lysle Johnston 2010 – Jack Gottschalk 2011 – Dushanka Kleinman 2012 – Dominick P. DePaola 2013 – Sol Siverman 2014 – Marcia Boyd 2015 – Stanley Bergman 2022 – Domenick Zero 2023 – James Vaden