Syvertsen, Rolf Christian, 1896-1960

Biography

Rolf Christian Syvertsen was born on March 22, 1896, in Taunton, MA. A member of the Class of 1918, he matriculated at Dartmouth in 1914 but took two years off, from 1917 to 1919, to serve in the U.S. Army, A.E.F. Signal Corps during World War I. In July of 1918, his regiment was sent to France, where he took part in the Meuse-Argonne offensive. Discharged from the Army in May 1919, he returned to Dartmouth and graduated in 1921 with a B.S. degree. In 1923, Syvertsen earned a diploma from the Dartmouth Medical School, where he subsequently became an instructor and served as secretary of the school. In 1930, he left Dartmouth to pursue a medical degree at Rush Medical College in Chicago. He returned to Dartmouth in 1932, and became an assistant professor of anatomy. In 1936, he completed an internship at Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital, earning his full MD. From 1938, until his death, Syvertsen was a full professor of anatomy. In 1942, he was appointed assistant dean of Dartmouth Medical School, and in 1945, he became dean, a position he held until his death. Syvertsen died on January 28, 1960 in Hanover.

Found in 2 Collections and/or Records: