Clement Andrew Smith was born in 1901 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He was the son of Shirley Smith, Professor of English and later Vice-President of the University of Michigan, and Sara Smith. He was the second son in a household of four children. CAS remained in Ann Arbor for all of his formal education, including a Master’s Degree in English and the M.D. degree from the University of Michigan. The combination of literary and medical interests was evident throughout his life. His classic Physiology of the Newborn Infant appeared first in 1945; three editions followed. From 1962-1973 he edited Pediatrics, and his History of the Children's Hospital of Boston was published in 1983.

Dr. Smith’s association with Children's Hospital began in 1931 and continued until 1988 when, a few weeks before his death, he attended his last grand rounds. During the years 1941-1942, Dr. Smith shared responsibility for the medical service with Dr. Louis K. Diamond and John Davies until the appointment of Dr. Richard Smith. From 1943-1945, Dr. Smith was Chairman of Pediatrics at Wayne University College of Medicine and Medical Director of the Children's Hospital of Michigan. In 1945, Dr. Smith returned to Boston as a full-time pediatrician at the Boston Lying-In Hospital and Director of Research on the newborn. In 1963, Dr. Smith was appointed Professor of Pediatrics at the Boston Lying-In Hospital, Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Smith was one of the first pediatricians to appreciate the special need of “preemies,” as they were then known. He had a profound respect for mothers and for all children, with whom he related easily. Dr. Smith always fostered a supportive environment for research on newborn infants, creating a fellowship in neonatology before the specialty emerged as an important facet of pediatrics. Dr. Smith, however, did not think of himself as a neonatologist but rather a pediatrician for the newborn infant.

Dr. Smith received numerous awards, including the Howland Award of the American Pediatric Society, and was elected to the Presidency of the same society. He also received the first Virginia Apgar Award in Perinatal Medicine, the Borden Award of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Colby College. Dr. Smith was also honored with Finland’s first Yllpo Medal in 1957 and a degree from the University of Groningen in 1964. Harvard Medical School established the Clement A. Smith Chair in Neonatology in 1985.

Information compiled from “Memorial Minute: Clement A. Smith – November 19, 1901 – December 31, 1988” written and presented by the Harvard Medical School Faculty of Medicine.