Bill died Jan. 3, 2008, at the Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care in Baltimore.

Bill prepared for Princeton at Wilmington's Pierre duPont School and Tower Hill School. A biology major, he joined Tower Club and the Skeet Club, and was on the class crew. Senior year he roomed with Jack Bagby, Mac Haines, and George McNeill.

After Princeton, Bill entered Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, graduating in 1944. After his residency, he joined the Army Air Corps and served as a flight surgeon in Japan and the Pacific with the 5th Air Force before separating as captain.

Bill had a research fellowship with the National Heart Institute, then joined the Hopkins medical faculty and the staff of Hopkins Hospital in 1951. He collaborated with Dr. William Kouwenhoven in developing the CPR technique from 1954 to 1958.

Active with the American Heart Association, Bill served as chairman of its research committee from 1966 to 1967. He returned to basic science at Hopkins and was appointed professor of physiology in 1969. Bill retired in 1990.

He was predeceased by his wife of 38 years, Gabriella Mahafey Milnor. He is survived by his son, William; his daughter, Katherine; and a grandson, R.J. Milnor Beard.

Undergraduate Class of 1941