Charles D. Phelps

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Charles Dexter Phelps (September 16, 1937 – September 13, 1985) was an American doctor who specialized in eye diseases, especially glaucoma. He was born in San Antonio, Texas, and raised in Waterloo, Iowa, into a family of physicians. He earned his medical degree at the University of Iowa in 1963 and trained in internal medicine before serving as a doctor in the U.S. Air Force (1965–1967). His work in glaucoma research with Mansour Armaly at Iowa inspired him to become a glaucoma specialist. He completed his ophthalmology residency at Iowa and did a fellowship at Washington University in St. Louis.

In 1972 he returned to the University of Iowa, where he led the glaucoma service and later became chair of the ophthalmology department in 1984. He cared for hundreds of patients, taught many students, and published numerous articles that advanced glaucoma treatment.

Phelps helped found the American Glaucoma Society. He died in 1985 at age 47 after a cancer diagnosis, leaving his wife Margaret and four children, along with his parents and brothers. At the society’s first meeting held in his honor in 1987, a Hawthorn tree was planted outside the ophthalmology department to remember his life and work. Colleagues praised his prolific contributions and lasting impact on glaucoma research.