He was born on 21 May 1881 at 73c Manchester Road, Southport, Lancashire, England, the son of Robert Sutcliffe Ivy and Annie Edith Cryer. He emigrated to the United States after 1891 and became naturalised in 1913. His uncle was Dr. Matthew Henry Cryer, by whom Robert's father was convinced to travel to the U.S. Robert's father studied dentistry and joined Dr. Cryer at his practice. Dr. Ivy went back to
England to attend the Emmanuel School. At the age of 18 years in 1898, Dr. Ivy attended the
University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine at the influence of his uncle, Dr. Cryer. Robert then attended
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine soon after. He served as the first dental intern in the United States in 1901 at the
Philadelphia General Hospital. Upon the request of his father, Robert interrupted his studies during the 3rd year of medical school and went to China to practice dentistry. After returning from China, Robert completed his medical school education. Dr. Vilrary P. Blair had a tremendous influence on Dr. Ivy's career as an
oral surgeon. Dr. Ivy worked as an assistant to Dr. Blair at the Surgeon's General Office in Washington in 1917. Later, he was assigned to Base Hospital in France, which saw a lot of patients with face, head, and jaw injuries. Dr. Ivy also learned French during his stay in France, practicing oral surgery during World War I. Dr. Ivy played an instrumental role in making the
Journal of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery one of the world's first academic journals on plastic surgery. The
Robert H. Ivy Pennsylvania Plastic Surgery Society, formed in 1954, was named in honor of Dr. Ivy. Dr. Ivy also authored
Applied Anatomy and Oral Surgery for Dental Students, an important dentistry textbook. ==Positions==