William C. Gorgas 1936769 220838068 2008-06-21T21:18:35Z Cydebot 1215485 Robot - Moving category Sewanee alumni to Sewanee: The University of the South alumni per [[WP:CFD|CFD]] at [[Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Log/2008 June 8]]. [[Image:Gorgas2.jpg|right|400px]] [[Major General]] '''William Crawford Gorgas''' [[Order of St Michael and St George|KCMG]] ([[October 3]], [[1854]], in [[Mobile, Alabama]] -- [[July 3]], [[1920]], in [[London]]) was a United States physician and 22nd [[Surgeons General of the United States Army|Surgeon General]] of the [[United States Army|U.S. Army]] (1914-18). He is best known for his work in abating the transmission of [[yellow fever]] and [[malaria]] by controlling the [[mosquitoes]] that carry them at a time when there was considerable skepticism and opposition to such measures. ==Biography== Born at [[Toulminville|Toulminville, Alabama]], Gorgas was the first of six children of [[Pennsylvania]]-born [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] general [[Josiah Gorgas]] and [[Amelia Gayle Gorgas]], daughter of [[List of governors of Alabama|Alabama governor]] [[John Gayle (Alabama)|John Gayle]]. After training at [[Bellevue Hospital Center|Bellevue Hospital Medical College]] in [[New York City]], Dr. Gorgas was appointed to the US Army [[Medical Corps]] in June 1880. Prior to appointment as Chief Sanitary Officer for the Army (1898), Gorgas was assigned to three posts -- [[Fort Clark]], [[Fort Duncan]], and [[Fort Brown]] -- in Texas . While at the last (1882-84), he met Marie Cook Doughty, whom he married in 1885. Gorgas was made [[Surgeon General of the United States Army|Surgeon General of the Army]] in 1914, in which position he was able to capitalize on the momentous work of another Army doctor, Major [[Walter Reed]], who had himself capitalized on insights of a Cuban doctor, [[Carlos Finlay]], to prove the mosquito transmission of [[yellow fever]]. As such, Gorgas won international fame battling the illness -- then the scourge of tropical and sub-tropical climates -- first in [[Florida]], later in [[Havana, Cuba]] and finally at the [[Panama Canal]]. He did this by implementing far-reaching sanitatary programs including the draining of ponds and swamps. It is generally considered that these measures were instrumental in permitting the construction of the [[Panama Canal]], as they significantly prevented illness due to yellow fever and malaria (which had also been shown to be transmitted by mosquitoes in 1898) among the thousands of workers involved in the building project. Gorgas received an [[List of honorary British Knights|honorary knighthood]] (KCMG) from [[George V of the United Kingdom|King George V]] at the [[Queen Alexandra Hospital|Queen Alexandra Military Hospital]] in the [[United Kingdom]] shortly before his death there on July 3, 1920. He was given a special funeral in [[St. Paul's Cathedral]], with the honors of a British major general. His body was later returned to the US and he was buried at [[Arlington National Cemetery]]. ==Legacy== *The '''Gorgas Memorial Institute of Tropical and Preventive Medicine, Incorporated''' (GMITP), which operated the '''Gorgas Laboratories''' in [[Panama]], was founded in 1921 and was named after Dr. Gorgas. With the loss of congressional funding in 1990, the GMITP was closed. The Institute was moved to the [[University of Alabama]] in 1992 and carries on the tradition of research, service and training in [[tropical medicine]]. [[The Gorgas Course in Clinical Tropical Medicine]] is sponsored by the [[University of Alabama School of Medicine]] in conjunction with [[Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia]] in [[Lima]], [[Peru]]. *'''[[Gorgas Hospital]]''' was a U.S. Army hospital in Panama named for Dr. Gorgas from 1928. Now in Panamanian hands, it is home to the [[Instituto Oncologico Nacional]], Panama's Ministry of Health and its Supreme Court. *In [[1953]] William C. Gorgas was inducted in the [[Alabama Hall of Fame]]. *Gorgas Hall, located on the campus of The [[University of Alabama]], is named in honor of his mother, [[Amelia Gayle Gorgas]]. The [[University of Texas Brownsville]] also has a Gorgas Hall in his honor. The university's campus is located on the grounds of the former [[Fort Brown]]. *William Crawford Gorgas Electric Generating Plant, Located along the Black Warrior River near Parrish. Total nameplate generating capacity - 1,221,250 kW: Generating units - 5 ==References== *Ashburn, P.M., ''History of the Medical Department of the U.S. Army'', 1929. *Gibson, John M., ''Physician to the World: The Life of General William C. Gorgas'', Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1950. *Gorgas, Marie and Burton J. Hendrick, ''William Crawford Gorgas: His Life and Work'', New York: Doubleday, 1924. * Mellander, Gustavo A. (1971) The United States in Panamanian Politics: The Intriguing Formative Years. Danville, Ill.: Interstate Publishers. OCLC 138568. * Mellander, Gustavo A.; Nelly Maldonado Mellander (1999). Charles Edward Magoon: The Panama Years. Río Piedras, Puerto Rico: Editorial Plaza Mayor. ISBN 1563281554. OCLC 42970390. *Phalen, James M., "Chiefs of the Medical Department, U.S. Army 1775-1940, Biographical Sketches," ''Army Medical Bulletin'', No. 52, April 1940, pp. 88-93. *''Endorsements, Resolutions and other Data in Behalf of the Nomination of Dr. William Crawford Gorgas for Election to the New York Hall of Fame for Great Americans'', 2 vols., Birmingham: Gorgas Hall of Fame Committee, 1950. ''Obituaries:'' *Ireland, M. W., ''Science'', July 16, 1920 *Martin, F.H., ''Surg. Gyn. Obst.'', Oct. 1923 *Noble, R.E. ''Am. J. Pub. Health'', March 1921 *Siler, J.F., ''Am. J. Trop. M.'', March 1922 ==External links== *The Gorgas Memorial Institute, University of Alabama **[http://www.dom.uab.edu/gorgas/ The Gorgas Courses in Clinical Tropical Medicine] **[http://www.astmh.org/funding/gorgasad.cfm Gorgas Memorial Institute Research Award (ASTMH Website)] *[http://wrair-www.army.mil/Resources/library/library.asp Gorgas Memorial Library], at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research *[http://www.archives.state.al.us/famous/w_gorgas.html ''Alabama Hall of Fame'' Bio] *[http://history.amedd.army.mil/tsgs/Gorgas.htm Army Medical Department Bio] *[http://www.gorgasinfo.org/ The Gorgas TB Initiative] *[http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/wcgorgas.htm Arlington National Cemetery Website Page on Gorgas] *[http://www.gorgassciencefoundation.org/ Gorgas Science Foundation Website] [[Category:American physicians|Gorgas]] [[Category:Surgeons General of the United States Army|Gorgas, William Crawford]] [[Category:Panama Canal|Gorgas]] [[Category:People from Alabama|Gorgas, William Crawford]] [[Category:Malaria|Gorgas]] [[Category:People from Mobile, Alabama|Gorgas, William C.]] [[Category:Sewanee: The University of the South alumni|Gorgas, William Crawford]] [[Category:1854 births|Gorgas, William Crawford]] [[Category:1920 deaths|Gorgas, William Crawford]] [[Category:Military physicians|Gorgas, William Crawford]] [[Category:Military medicine|Gorgas, William Crawford]] thanks for reading