Although her scoring system is familiar to all doctors, that Virginia Apgar was an obstetric anaesthesiologist is less widely known. The score that bears her name appeared in “Anaesthesia and Analgesia” exactly 50 years ago. It mandated neonatal assessments that can be done anywhere, with minimal training, at one and five minutes after delivery. It is impossible to quantify the morbidity and mortality so far prevented by this simple standard. Accolades Prof Apgar received in 1973 included Medals from the American Society of Anaesthesiologists and the Alumniof Columbia University’s College of