Richard S. Ross was born in Richmond, Indiana. He began attending Harvard in 1942 and was able to enter Harvard Medical School shortly thereafter because of the accelerated program that had been made available as a result of World War II. He graduated cum laude and went on to take an internship on the Osler Medical Service at Johns Hopkins. After spending time in the Army Medical Corps and Harvard, Ross returned to Hopkins to take a position as a chief medical resident. Ross's expertise was in the field of cardiology, as he developed coronary cineangiography and was also asked to give an opinion on former President Richard Nixon's cardiovascular health prior to the Watergate hearings. In this history, Dr. Ross discusses his love for the Hopkins School of Medicine and his thoughts on the program's progress. This oral history is part of the Mame Warren oral history.