R Adams Cowley (July 25, 1917 – October 27, 1991) was an American surgeon considered a pioneer in emergency medicine and the treatment of shock trauma.

He is also known for being one of the first surgeons to perform open-heart surgery and invented both a surgical clamp that bears his name and the prototype pacemaker that was used by Dwight D.

[2] As a professor of thoracic surgery at the University of Maryland, Cowley was the organizer of the world's first and longest-running "shock trauma" center.

In 1957, while still in the U.S. Army, Cowley had pioneered the once controversial but now universally accepted concept of the "Golden Hour," which he defined as the fact that a severe trauma patient had sixty minutes or less from time of injury to receive specialized treatment at a Shock Trauma Unit to reduce mortality.

Cowley also organized the Maryland Institute of Emergency Medical Services, the first statewide coordinated EMS system of care in The United States.

In 1969, he started the first injured "civilian" helicopter transport service with the assistance of the Maryland State Police Aviation Division.

[7] With over 400 published professional articles, chapters, books, and white papers to his credit, Cowley was a pioneer in raising awareness of trauma prevention.

[8] In 1986, at Cowley's request and with the support of Maryland Senator Mathias, Ronald Reagan, the then President of the United States, signed the act authorizing the establishment of "The National Center For The Study of Trauma and Emergency Medical Services" and recognizing, as its founder and first director, R Adams Cowley.

An amateur oil painter, Cowley donated one of his finest paintings, Winterscape, during the first Shock Trauma Gala.

Though he could have afforded a large house from his earnings as a doctor, Cowley lived in an efficient apartment covered with books, some of which he even kept inside its stove.

One Christmas, University of Maryland carpenters presented Cowley with an eight-foot orange handmade bench so he would stop that practice.