Editing William Masters

{{short description|American gynecologist (1915–2001)}}
{{otherpeople}}
{{Infobox person
|name  = William Masters
|image = 
|image_size = 
|caption    = 
|birth_name = William Howell Masters
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1915|12|27}}
|birth_place = [[Cleveland]], Ohio, U.S.
|death_date  = {{Death date and age|2001|2|16|1915|12|27}}
|death_place = [[Tucson, Arizona]], U.S.
|resting_place =
|resting_place_coordinates =
|nationality = 
|known_for = 
|education = [[Lawrenceville School]]<br>[[Hamilton College (New York)|Hamilton College]]<br>[[University of Rochester Medical Center]]
|employer = 
|occupation = 
|title = 
|height = 
|spouse = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Elizabeth Ellis|1942|1971|end=div}}
* {{marriage|[[Virginia E. Johnson]]|1971|1993|end=div}}
* {{marriage|Geraldine B. Oliver|1993}}
}}
|children = 2
}}
'''William Howell Masters''' (December 27, 1915 – February 16, 2001) was an American [[Gynaecology|gynecologist]] and the senior member of the [[Masters and Johnson]] human sexuality research team. Along with his partner [[Virginia E. Johnson]], he pioneered research into the nature of [[Human sexual response cycle|human sexual response]] and the diagnosis and treatment of [[sexual dysfunction]]s and disorders from 1957 until the 1990s.

==Early life==
Born in [[Cleveland]], [[Ohio]], William Masters was the older son of Francis Wynn Masters and Estabrooks Taylor Masters. His younger brother was named Frank. Growing up, Masters had a particularly rough childhood at the hands of his father, a difficult man who liked to be in control and had a very bad temper. All household decisions had to be cleared through the father, and in fits of anger he beat young Bill with a belt, sometimes until Bill bled. Nevertheless, Bill was a bright child and excelled at school. After his Aunt Sally decided to pay his tuition, Masters attended the [[Lawrenceville School]], a preparatory school in New Jersey, then for boys only. Once Bill began his education, his father considered him an adult and gave him little to no financial or family support, and so he rarely visited home. With the completion of his early education Masters then attended and graduated from [[Hamilton College (New York)|Hamilton College]] in upstate New York. Afterward, he enrolled at the [[University of Rochester School of Medicine|University of Rochester Medical School]], from which he received his medical degree. He was a member of [[Alpha Delta Phi]], and became a faculty member at [[Washington University in St. Louis]]. In 1942, he married his first wife, Elizabeth Ellis,<ref>"[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1323201/William-Masters.html William Masters]" (Obituraries), ''The Telegraph'' (London), 19 Feb 2001. Retrieved 1 Oct 2014</ref> who was known as Libby or Betty.<ref>Thomas Maier, ''Masters of Sex: The Life and Times of William Masters and Virginia Johnson, the Couple Who Taught America How to Love'', publ. Basic Books, 2013, {{ISBN|0465044999}}, 9780465044993. Length 424 pages. ([https://books.google.com/books?id=uCPvPwvgCbIC&q=betty+libby+ellis&pg=PT36 page])</ref> The couple had two children.<ref>Ann T. Keene., "[http://www.anb.org/articles/13/13-02600.html Masters, William Howell]",  ''American National Biography Online'', October 2008 Update., Access Date: Wed Oct 01 2014 14:37:37</ref><ref>Richard Severo, "[https://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/19/us/william-h-masters-a-pioneer-in-studying-and-demystifying-sex-dies-at-85.html?pagewanted=all William H. Masters, a Pioneer in Studying and Demystifying Sex, Dies at 85]", ''New York Times'', February 19, 2001. Retrieved 1 Oct 2014</ref>

==Career==

===Sexological research===
{{Main|Masters and Johnson}}
{{expand section|date=January 2014}}

===Relationship with Virginia Johnson===
Masters met [[Virginia E. Johnson]] in 1957 when he hired her as a research assistant to undertake a comprehensive study of human sexuality. Masters divorced his first wife, Elizabeth Ellis Masters, to marry Johnson in 1971. Masters and Johnson eventually divorced over two decades later but continued their professional collaboration.

==Death==
William Masters suffered complications from [[Parkinson's disease]] and died in [[Tucson, Arizona]], on February 16, 2001.<ref name="nyt-obit" /> Masters's second wife, Virginia Johnson, died in July 2013. Dr. Masters was survived by two children from his marriage to Elizabeth Ellis: Sarah Masters Paul, and William Howell Masters III.<ref name="nyt-obit">{{cite news |first=Richard |last=Severo |title=William H. Masters, a Pioneer in Studying and Demystifying Sex, Dies at 85 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/19/us/william-h-masters-a-pioneer-in-studying-and-demystifying-sex-dies-at-85.html |quote=Dr. William H. Masters, who with his co-researcher, Virginia E. Johnson, revolutionized the way sex is studied, taught and enjoyed in America, died Friday at a hospice in Tucson. He was 85 and had lived in retirement since 1994, first in St. Louis and then in Tucson. He suffered complications from Parkinson's disease, said his wife, Geraldine Baker Oliver Masters. |work=[[New York Times]] |date=February 19, 2001 |access-date=2008-07-24}}</ref> He was a church-going [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopalian]] and a registered [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]].<ref name="nytimes.com"/>

==In popular culture==
The American [[cable network]] [[Showtime (TV network)|Showtime]] debuted ''[[Masters of Sex]]'', a dramatic television series loosely based on the 2009 biography of the same name, on September 29, 2013. The series stars [[Michael Sheen]] as Masters and [[Lizzy Caplan]] as Virginia Johnson.

Sheen has stated in an interview that he does not know what the real Bill Masters was like and he was doing his own interpretation in his portrayal of him.

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name="nytimes.com">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/19/us/william-h-masters-a-pioneer-in-studying-and-demystifying-sex-dies-at-85.html|title=William H. Masters, a Pioneer in Studying and Demystifying Sex, Dies at 85|first=Richard|last=Severo|newspaper=The New York Times |date=19 February 2001}}</ref>
}}

{{Sexual revolution|state=collapsed}}
{{Masters of Sex}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Masters, William}}
[[Category:1915 births]]
[[Category:2001 deaths]]
[[Category:American Episcopalians]]
[[Category:American relationships and sexuality writers]]
[[Category:American male non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:Deaths from Parkinson's disease in Arizona]]
[[Category:American gynecologists]]
[[Category:Hamilton College (New York) alumni]]
[[Category:Physicians from Cleveland]]
[[Category:Physicians from St. Louis]]
[[Category:Scientists from Tucson, Arizona]]
[[Category:American sex educators]]
[[Category:American sexologists]]
[[Category:Lawrenceville School alumni]]
[[Category:Washington University in St. Louis faculty]]
[[Category:Writers from Missouri]]
[[Category:Writers from Cleveland]]