Dr. Julius B. Richmond, a former U.S. surgeon general and a professor of health policy emeritus at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health, died at his home in Chestnut Hill on July 27. He was 91.

Dr. Richmond owned a home in West Tisbury, where he and his family summered for two decades.

Dr. Richmond was trained in pediatrics and child development and worked to introduce psychosocial development into pediatric education, research and services. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois in 1937 and his medical degree from the University of Illinois School of Medicine in 1939. He served in the Army Air Force as a flight surgeon from 1942 to 1946. He returned to the department of pediatrics at the University of Illinois, and served as director of the Institute of Juvenile Research in Chicago.

In 1953, Dr. Richmond became chairman of the department of pediatrics at the State University of New York Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse. He rose to the position of dean.

During his tenure there, he completed collaborative work on the development of young children growing up in poverty, which led to his appointment in 1965 as the first director of the national Head Start program. He also served as assistant director for health affairs of the Office of Economic Opportunity and directed the Community Health Centers program.

As surgeon general and assistant secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services from 1977 to 1981, he established quantitative health goals for the nation for the next decade — a process later institutionalized by the government. A committed advocate, he also chaired the steering committee of the Forum on the Future of Families and Children of the National Academy of Sciences from 1987 to 1993.

Dr. Richmond served in a number of positions in the Harvard community. He was director of the Judge Baker Children’s Center from 1971 to 1977. He was director of the Division of Health Policy Research and Education at Harvard University from 1983 to 1988. He also served as professor of child psychiatry and human development at Harvard Medical School as well as chairman of psychiatry at Children’s Hospital.

Dr. Richmond received the C. Anderson Aldrich Award of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Gustav O. Lienhard Award and the Walsh McDermott Medal of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, the John Howland Award of the American Pediatric Society, the Ronald McDonald Award of the Ronald McDonald Children’s Charities, the Sedgwick Medal and the Martha May Eliot Award from the American Public Health Association, the David E. Rogers Award of the AAMC, the John Stearns Award for Lifetime Achievement in Medicine from the New York Academy of Medicine, the Heinz Award for Public Policy, and a number of honorary degrees including those of Yale and Harvard. In addition, the highest honor given by Harvard School of Public Health, the Julius B. Richmond Award, is named after him.

Dr. Richmond was predeceased by his wife Rhee and his son Dale.

Survivors include his wife Jean Berger Richmond; two sons, Charles (married to Jean) of Indianapolis, Ind., and Barry (married to Dorothy Anne) of Bethesda, Md.; two stepsons, Steven Berger (married to Elizabeth) of West Lafayette, Ind., and Michael Berger (married to Barbara) of Detroit, Mich.; four grandsons, Joshua, Jay, Nathaniel and Ian; and five step-granddaughters, Shelly, Heather, Deborah, Shauna and Miriam.

Dr. Richmond’s family is making plans for a private funeral. A memorial service will be held in the fall. Memorial contributions may be made to the AAP-Dale Richmond/Justin Coleman Award Fund, American Academy of Pediatrics, Development Lockbox, 38367 Eagle Way, Chicago IL 60678-1383.