James S. Foote, M.D. was a faculty member of the Schools of Medicine and Dentistry. He was a professor of histology, physiology, pathology, and clinical microscopy from 1893 to 1922. He was also a researcher and pathologist at the John A. Creighton College of medicine. Dr. Foote joined Creighton in 1893, after graduating from Yale and the Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons. He remained at Creighton until his death in 1925. Foote was the first Creighton faculty member to be made a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Foote developed the theory that bone structure of animals is a measure of their development. He found proof for this theory by examining Egyptian mummies obtained from the Smithsonian Institution. His largest work, “Comparative Histology of the Femur,” was published in the Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge from 1909-1916. Creighton University remains the home for The Foote Collection of Comparative Histology of the Femur of very many species.