Association of University Cardiologists
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Ira Muir Clapper, M.D.
1913 - 2000
Ira Muir Clapper, M.D. was born in Detroit, Michigan on May 26th, 1913 and died after a long illness on January 14th, 2000. He was 86 years old and is survived by his wife, Virginia. Dr. Clapper was a member of the Association of University Cardiologists since 1964. He was a graduate of Wayne State University, and earned his Doctor of Medicine degree in 1937. He became a faculty member immediately thereafter, and remained on the faculty of Wayne State University for nearly 60 years until his retirement in 1994. His long and distinguished career included service as the President of the Michigan Heart Association, a member of the Board of Directors at the American Heart Association, Chairman of the Department of Medicine at Wayne State University, and Governor of the Michigan Chapter of the American College of Physicians. He was one of the Founding Fellows of the Council on Clinical Cardiology of the American Heart Association. He served on many local and national committees and boards of medical societies and journals.
Dr. Clapper was a renowned teacher of medicine and cardiology, and taught literally thousands of medical students, residents and fellows over the years. His clinical skills and encyclopedic knowledge remain a legend at the medical school and in the region. It has been said that it is a rare physician in practice in Michigan who has not been touched by his teaching, either directly or indirectly.
When I asked his long-time friend and colleague Dr. Carter Bishop what he remembered most about Muir, Carter noted that Dr. Clapper was appointed a Special Instructor in Medicine at Wayne State University from 1937 until 1940, but commented that Dr. Clapper remained throughout his professional career…a special instructor in medicine. We remember him with fondness, affection, respect, and gratitude.