Wyngaarden, James B. (1924-) | Heritage Hall, Hekman Library

James B. Wyngaarden was born on October 19, 1924 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He attended Calvin College and Western Michigan University. He went on to study at the University of Michigan's Medical School, where he graduated top of his class in 1948.

Wyngaarden began his career at the National Institutes of Health in 1953 as a research associate. By 1959 he was the director of the medical research training program and associate professor of medicine ad biochemistry at Duke University. In 1961 he was promoted to professor of medicine and associate professor of biochemistry. Wyngaarden received an opportunity to become a visiting scientist at the Institute de Biologie-Physiocochemique in Paris, France for a year. Once he returned to the States, he left Duke University for the position of professor and chairman of the department of medicine and professor biochemistry at the University of Pennsylvania. By 1967, Wyngaarden returned to Duke University as Hanes professor and chairman of the department of medicine.

From 1982 to 1989 Wyngaarden served as the director of the National Institutes of Health. Throughout his career, Wyngaarden has been widely recognized as the authority on the fields of Arthritis, Rheumatism and Gout. Wyngaarden has authored and co-authored a great number of medical papers, articles, and books. Wyngaarden has also been involved in many medical and honorary societies such as the NAS Institute of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and past president of the Association of American Physicians. He is a representative of the American Board of Internal Medicine, and was elected into the Royal Academy of Sciences of Sweden. He has been awarded with several honorary degrees and received the Distinguished Alumni Award of the Calvin Alumni Association in 1970.

On a personal level, James B. Wyngaarden married Ethel nee Vredevoogd in 1946. Together they have five children.