William H. Welch
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| William Henry Welch | |
 William Henry Welch'
|
|
| Born | April 8, 1850 Norfolk, Connecticut United States |
|---|---|
| Died | April 30, 1934 (aged 84) |
| Nationality | United States |
| Occupation | physician |
William Henry Welch (April 8, 1850 - April 30, 1934) was an American physician and medical school administrator. He was first dean of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where the library is named for him. He was also the founding dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health established in 1916.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Born in Norfolk, Connecticut, Welch was educated at Norfolk Academy and the Winchester Institute. He entered Yale College in 1866, where he studied Greek and classics. As an undergraduate, he joined the Skull and Bones honorary fraternity.
After many years of trying to be a professor of Greek at Yale, he went to study medicine in Germany. In 1894, he was offered a post and finally accepted his position at Johns Hopkins University.
In 1912 upon its creation Welch was appointed to the Board of Scientific Directors of the preexisting Eugenic Records Office. This organization attempted to find the hereditary connection for "feeble-minded" individuals between generations; with the understanding they could eradicate these and other undesirables through isolation, sterilization and euthanasia. The ERO had contributors such as the Rockefeller Foundation and the Harriman family.
From 1901 to 1933 he was founding president of the Board of Scientific Directors at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research. He was an instrumental reformer of medical education in the United States as well as a president of the National Academy of Sciences from 1913-1917. He was also president of the American Medical Association in addition to other prestigious associations. He was a founding editor of the Journal of Experimental Medicine.
Welch Road, in the vicinity of Stanford University Medical Center in Stanford, California is named in his honor.
[edit] References
- Chronology of the Life of William Henry Welch
- H.L. Mencken. "Moral Tale". http://www.bizbag.com/mencken/menktale.htm.
- Bench and Bedside, December 2007, "Honoring the Past"
[edit] Further reading
- Barry, John M. (2004). The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Greatest Plague in History. Viking Penguin. ISBN 0-670-89473-7. (This book covers a great deal of Welch's life as well as other medical people of the era.)
- Edwin Black, (2003). War Against the Weak: Eugenics and America's Campaign To Create A Master Race. Thunder's Mouth Press. ISBN 1-56858-321-4. (This book discusses eugenics in America along with those who researched the "science.")
- Donald Fleming (1954). William H. Welch and the Rise of Modern Medicine. The Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-3389-2.
[edit] See also
|
|||||
 This biographical article related to medicine in the United States is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it . |
