Harrington was born September 27, 1911 and educated in the Kansas City school system, from which he graduated in 1930, having been named one of the State of Kansas' 15 most outstanding high-school graduates.
Harrington undertook his internship and first year of surgical residency at Roper Hospital, Charleston, South Carolina, after which he returned to St Luke's Hospital in Kansas City, where he completed his residency in orthopaedic surgery in 1942, under Doctors Frank Dickson and Rex Dively [REF].