Mudd, Richard Mudd, Dr. (1901-2002)
Dates
- Existence: 1901 - 2002
Biography
Dr. Richard Dyer Mudd was born in Washington, D.C. on January 24, 1901. He received his P.H.D. and M.D. degrees from Georgetown University, interned at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, and became a medical director for General Motors. Dr. Mudd also joined the military reserves in 11926, served in World War II and the Korean Conflict, and retired as a Colonel in 1961.
Dr. Richard Mudd was a decendent of Dr. Samuel Mudd, a rural Maryland doctor who set John Wilkes Booth’s leg on April 15, 1865. For this “crime”, Dr. Mudd was sentenced to life imprisonment for complicity in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln though he was eventually pardoned for his heroic efforts in saving many lives during the yellow fever epidemic at the penitentiary. Dr. Richard Mudd went to great lengths to clear his grandfather’s name, traveling extensively, making speeches, collecting data, and visiting Lincoln histories. Dr. Mudd had some success and was able to secure letters from President Jimmy Carter and President Ronald Reagan that stated Dr. Samuel Mudd was unjustly convicted.