George F. Crikelair, plastic surgeon, was born in Green Bay, Wisconsin. He graduated from St. Norbert College and received his medical degree in 1944 from the University of Wisconsin.

He arrived at the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in 1952, and by 1960 was named professor of clinical surgery, a position he held until his retirement in 1977. He also directed the plastic surgery service at Presbyterian Hospital from 1959 to 1977. He was also affiliated with Harlem Hospital and Francis Delafield Hospital.

Crikelair served as chair of the American Board of Plastic Surgery (1970-1971); president of the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons (1971); and was a founder of the Information Council on Fabric Flammability (1967).

He died in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, of a stroke, on Feb. 24, 2005.

The Information Council on Fabric Flammability was founded by George F. Crikelair, a plastic surgeon affiliated with Columbia University, in 1967.

Crikelair founded the organization after becoming interested in burn prevention after treating numerous children with severe burns. With Fritz Agate, a burn expert at Columbia, he conducted experiments that supported the existence of a causal connection between nightwear made with untreated fabrics and severe burns in children.

Based on these observations Crikelair was invited to speak at Senate hearings on the subject, and also appointed  to the Consumer Product Safety Committee, a national advisory committee that helped draft and promote the federal Flammable Fabrics Act, which was ratified in 1972 and set safety standards for certain fabrics.

He also was instrumental in getting prevention included as part of the mission of the American Burn Association, and started a prevention section with the organization.