Walter Reed
(Wikipedia) Major
Walter Reed, M.D., (September 13, 1851 – November 22, 1902) was a U.S. Army
physician who in 1901 led the team that postulated and confirmed the theory
that yellow fever is transmitted by a particular mosquito species, rather than
by direct contact. This insight gave impetus to the new fields of epidemiology
and biomedicine, and most immediately allowed the resumption and completion of
work on the Panama Canal (1904–1914) by the United States. Reed followed work
started by Carlos Finlay and directed by George Miller Sternberg ("first
U.S. bacteriologist"). Reed's
breakthrough in yellow fever research is widely considered a milestone in
biomedicine, opening new vistas of research and humanitarianism.
Born in September of 1851 to Lemuel and Pharaba in
Gloucester County, Walter Reed managed to accomplish many extraordinary achievements
during his 51 years of life. In 1869 and
just before he turned 19, he earned his M.D. degree. After he graduated from the University of
Virginia, he attended the New York University’s Bellevue Hospital Medical
College and procured his second M.D. degree in 1870. Six years later, Reed married Emilie and
together they had two children, a boy and a girl.
Later, Reed enlisted in the U.S. Army Medical Corps, and was
stationed in several locations providing medical attention to those who needed
it including Apache Native Americans.
Towards the end of his military tours, he continued his medical
schooling by attending Johns Hopkins University Hospital Pathology Laboratory. Following his education, he became a
professor at George Washington University School of Medicine, and worked as a
curator at the Army Medical Museum (now the National Museum of Health and
Medicine).
In the late 1800’s, Reed proved that those inflicted with
yellow fever did not get it from drinking water from the Potomac River, but
from the nearby swamps. The men who got
the disease often took the trails through the murky woods. He later traveled to Cuba as a part of a group
to explore the widespread of typhoid fever infecting many soldiers. During his time with the U.S. Army Yellow
Fever Commission in Cuba, he and the other committee members concluded that
mosquitoes were transmitting the disease and not by other means. They followed this up with many experiments, an
some were very risky. Reed spoke at many
seminars on yellow fever until his death on November 22, 1902 after his
appendix ruptured.
Be sure to look Walter Reed up and read the many more in-depth
articles on his life and achievements.
What a cool read. Sounds like he really made strides with yellow fever. But dying of a ruptured appendix? That sucks. We've come so far with modern medicine.
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