Dr. Busse was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He received his M.D. (1942) from Washington University in St. Louis and his Sc.D. (1960) from Westminster College. He interned at St. Louis City Hospital (1942–43) and served as a major in the U.S. Army (1943–46). After WWII, he took a residency in psychiatry at the Colorado Psychiatric Hospital in Denver (1946–48) and went from instructor to professor and head of psychiatric medicine at the University of Colorado (1946–53). He later moved to Duke University in North Carolina as Professor and Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry, a post he held for 21 years.
Dr. Busse was a leading figure in the subspecialty of geriatric psychiatry. His interest and involvement led to his role as founder and director of the Duke University Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development (1957–1971). In 1985, the university named its new geriatric center the E. W. Busse Gerontology Building. The North Carolina Division of Aging annually bestows the E. W. Busse Award for achievement in geriatric research.
Dr. Busse received numerous awards for his pioneering work in gerontology, including the Strecker Award of the Institute of Pennsylvania Hospitals (1967), the William Menninger Memorial Award from the American College of Physicians (1971), the Edward B. Allen Award from the American Geriatric Society (1967), and the Kleemeir Award from the Gerontology Society (1967). A prolific writer, Dr. Busse authored and co-authored more than 250 scientific articles.
Dr. Busse served as President of the American Geriatric Society, the Geriatrics Society of America, the International Association of Gerontology, and the North Carolina Institute of Medicine. He was a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Science and served as Director and Secretary-Treasurer of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (1961–1964).
Dr. Busse was elected Vice President (1967) and served as President of the American Psychiatric Association (1971–72).