Dr. Henry Robert Murray Landis was born on February 3, 1872, in Niles, Ohio, USA.

He was a physician, author, and editor. He attended Columbus Latin School, Ohio State University for one year, and then entered Amherst College (A.B., 1894 and the honorary degree of D.Sc., 1929). He graduated from Jefferson Medical College in 1897 and served as resident physician at the Philadelphia General Hospital. He was Chief of the Out-Patient Medical Dispensary at Jefferson Medical College from 1906 to 1910. In 1910, he joined the staff of the School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania. He was appointed Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine in 1912 and later Professor of Clinical Medicine, a position he held until his death. His active medical life was devoted mainly to the investigation, treatment, and control of tuberculosis. He was a recognized authority on diseases of the chest and, since 1910, he served as a Director of the Clinical and Sociological Departments of the Henry Phipps Institute for the Study, Treatment and Prevention of Tuberculosis at the University of Pennsylvania. He was the author of a textbook on "The Diseases of the Chest and the Principles of Physical Diagnosis," written in collaboration with Dr. George W. Norris and published in 1917. Dr. Landis was also an Assistant Editor of Progressive Medicine from 1900 to 1910, an Editor of International Medical Clinics from 1916 to 1922, and one of the editors of American Review of Tuberculosis. He was one of the Founders of the National Tuberculosis Association, of which he was Honorary Vice-President during the last three years of his life. From 1928 to 1931, Dr. Landis was a President of the Pennsylvania Tuberculosis Society. He was also an active and influential member of the Board of Directors of the Philadelphia Health Council and Tuberculosis Committee and was primarily responsible for the establishment of its Negro Bureau. Dr. Landis was a member of the American Medical Association, Association of American Physicians, American Sanatorium Association, National Tuberculosis Association, Philadelphia County Medical Society, and the Philadelphia College of Physicians. In 1913, he was elected to the Interurban Clinical Club.

In 1902, he married Margaret Tucker (1871-1941). He died on September 14, 1937, in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.