hstr101C - people

Alexander Yersin (1863-1943)

understanding black death (yersinia pestis? DOUBLE CHECK)

Al-Razi (864-935)

looked at smallpox through a humoral lens. drained pustules, induced vomiting/sweating

Ambroise Pare (1510-1590)

observed measels vs smallpox.

edward jenner

invents vaccination in the context of smallpox. noticed milkmaids had no inoculation symptoms cause they had cowpox exposure already

Benjamin Rush (1745-1813)

(yellow fever) founding father of USA. theorized that YF was a result of miasmas. advocated for bloodletting.

Stubbins Firth (1784-1820)

(YF) medical student, experimented on himself. opposed contagionism for YF

Walter Reed (ca. 1900)

YF Commision, rejected germ theory. hypothesized mosquitos’ role.

Leonard Rogers (1868-1962)

cholera bed, gradual drip of water into veins.

William Farr (1807-1838)

(cholera) London apothecary/physician. blended humoralism and contaigionism theory. blamed miasmas

John Snow (1813-1858)

(cholera) broad street pump. gastrointestinal symptoms made him consider ingested pathogens.

Filippo Pocini (1812-1883)

theory that cholera = microbe called vibrio

Louis Pasteur (1822-1895)

(cholera+ more) cooking food to destroy microbes (pasteurization)

Robert Koch (1843-1910)

(cholera+more eg sleeping sickness) first to prove specific microbes caused specific diseases. linked anthrax (disease from bacterial spore in bloodstream) to bacterial spores in soil. human experimentation on African people for sleeping sickness

René Laennec (1781-1826)

(TB) invents stethoscope. didn’t think of TB as contagious, thought it to be inherited from parents.

Jean Antoine Villemin (1827-1892)

(TB) army physician, worked in France, saw rural folks get sick in barracks and suggested contagionist for TB. then injected rabbits with TB

Richard Shope (1901-1966)

(influenza) Studied swine influenza in 1930s, identified as virus (filtering technology) transferred it to other pigs.

Simon Flexner (1863-1946)

(polio) experiments on rhesus monkeys. thought polio jumped straight to brain, skipping bloodstream (was wrong, held back research)

Elizabeth Kenning (1880-1952)

(polio) used heat, and gentle massage / movement instead of stilts to treat muscles. ignored by NFIP (national foundation for infantile paralysis)

Jonas Salk (1914-1995)

(polio) developed Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV). tested it on disabled kids at DT Watson home for crippled children.

Franklin D Roosevelt (1882-1945)

(polio) was disabled and put money into polio research. however, portrayed himself as getting over polio, which was damaging to public image of disabled peoples. Only focused on polio in (usually white) children when adults needed help too.

Henrietta Lacks

(polio) had a uterine cancer treatment in 1951, without her knowledge the tumor material was sent to Johns Hopkins. Found that her cells were easily grown in labs and ideal for cultures including polio. Got no recognition or payment, though lots of money made off her cells.

Gaëtan Dugas

(hiv/aids) identified by Randy Shilts (in his novel “And the Band Played On”) to be patient zero for the AIDS epidemic in the united states (not true, and harmful to target one person as a scapegoat.)

Tao Mbeki (1942-)

(hiv/aids) south African Politian. Rejected western antiretroviral therapy in favour of traditional medicine. viewed HIV/AIDS as a function of colonialism (there is some truth in this colonialism terrorized Africa) however this choice ultimately harmed Africans. Parts of Sub-Saharan and South Africa are considered to be aids capitals of the world. yikes!

Jonathan Mann (1947-1998)

(hiv/aids) WHO official who led efforts to address aids epidemic globally, resigned to protest lack of progress at the UN level