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Jonas Edward Salk (/sɔːlk/; October 28, 1914 – June 23, 1995) was an American medical researcher and virologist. He discovered and developed one of the first successful polio vaccines. Born in New York City, he attended New York University School of Medicine, later choosing to do medical research instead of becoming a practicing physician. In 1939, after earning his medical degree, Salk began an internship as a physician scientist at Mount Sinai Hospital.[1] Two years later he was granted a fellowship at the University of Michigan, where he would study flu viruses with his mentor Thomas Francis, Jr.[2]
Until 1955, when the Salk vaccine was introduced, polio was considered one of the most frightening public health problems in the world. In the postwar United States, annual epidemics were increasingly devastating. The 1952 U.S. epidemic was the worst outbreak in the nation's history. Of nearly 58,000 cases reported that year, 3,145 people died and 21,269 were left with mild to disabling paralysis,[3] with most of its victims being children. The "public reaction was to a plague", said historian William L. O'Neill.[4] "Citizens of urban areas were to be terrified every summer when this frightful visitor returned." According to a 2009 PBS documentary, "Apart from the atomic bomb, America's greatest fear was polio."[5] As a result, scientists were in a frantic race to find a way to prevent or cure the disease.
In 1947, Salk accepted an appointment to the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. In 1948, he undertook a project funded by the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, the organization that would fund the development of a vaccine, to determine the number of different types of polio virus. Salk saw an opportunity to extend this project towards developing a vaccine against polio, and, together with the skilled research team he assembled, devoted himself to this work for the next seven years. The field trial set up to test the Salk vaccine was, according to O'Neill, "the most elaborate program of its kind in history, involving 20,000 physicians and public health officers, 64,000 school personnel, and 220,000 volunteers." Over 1,800,000 school children took part in the trial.[6] When news of the vaccine's success was made public on April 12, 1955, Salk was hailed as a "miracle worker" and the day almost became a national holiday. Around the world, an immediate rush to vaccinate began, with countries including Canada, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, West Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Belgium planning to begin polio immunization campaigns using Salk's vaccine.
Salk campaigned for mandatory vaccination, claiming that public health should be considered a "moral commitment."[7] His sole focus had been to develop a safe and effective vaccine as rapidly as possible, with no interest in personal profit. As such, there is no patent for the vaccine.[8] In 1960, he founded the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, which is today a center for medical and scientific research. He continued to conduct research and publish books, including Man Unfolding (1972), The Survival of the Wisest (1973), World Population and Human Values: A New Reality (1981), and Anatomy of Reality: Merging of Intuition and Reason (1983). Salk's last years were spent searching for a vaccine against HIV. His personal papers are stored at the University of California, San Diego Library.[9][10]
Until 1955, when the Salk vaccine was introduced, polio was considered one of the most frightening public health problems in the world. In the postwar United States, annual epidemics were increasingly devastating. The 1952 U.S. epidemic was the worst outbreak in the nation's history. Of nearly 58,000 cases reported that year, 3,145 people died and 21,269 were left with mild to disabling paralysis,[3] with most of its victims being children. The "public reaction was to a plague", said historian William L. O'Neill.[4] "Citizens of urban areas were to be terrified every summer when this frightful visitor returned." According to a 2009 PBS documentary, "Apart from the atomic bomb, America's greatest fear was polio."[5] As a result, scientists were in a frantic race to find a way to prevent or cure the disease.
In 1947, Salk accepted an appointment to the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. In 1948, he undertook a project funded by the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, the organization that would fund the development of a vaccine, to determine the number of different types of polio virus. Salk saw an opportunity to extend this project towards developing a vaccine against polio, and, together with the skilled research team he assembled, devoted himself to this work for the next seven years. The field trial set up to test the Salk vaccine was, according to O'Neill, "the most elaborate program of its kind in history, involving 20,000 physicians and public health officers, 64,000 school personnel, and 220,000 volunteers." Over 1,800,000 school children took part in the trial.[6] When news of the vaccine's success was made public on April 12, 1955, Salk was hailed as a "miracle worker" and the day almost became a national holiday. Around the world, an immediate rush to vaccinate began, with countries including Canada, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, West Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Belgium planning to begin polio immunization campaigns using Salk's vaccine.
Salk campaigned for mandatory vaccination, claiming that public health should be considered a "moral commitment."[7] His sole focus had been to develop a safe and effective vaccine as rapidly as possible, with no interest in personal profit. As such, there is no patent for the vaccine.[8] In 1960, he founded the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, which is today a center for medical and scientific research. He continued to conduct research and publish books, including Man Unfolding (1972), The Survival of the Wisest (1973), World Population and Human Values: A New Reality (1981), and Anatomy of Reality: Merging of Intuition and Reason (1983). Salk's last years were spent searching for a vaccine against HIV. His personal papers are stored at the University of California, San Diego Library.[9][10]
Jonas Salk - Wikipedia
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Maj Marty Hogan good morning: good read/share and on Jonas Edward Salk whom was a pioneer in medical science-developing a cure for Polio.
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel SGT (Join to see) SGT Philip Roncari SPC Margaret Higgins SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth SP5 Michael Rathbun CW5 Jack CardwellCOL Mikel J. Burroughs CPL Dave Hoover SFC Shirley Whitfield LTC Stephen F. SSG William Jones Lt Col Charlie Brown PO1 Tony Holland SGT Jim Arnold TSgt Joe C. PO3 Phyllis Maynard PV2 Mark Zehner MSG Danny Mathers
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OpenMind - Interview with Dr. Jonas Salk (1985)
Featuring: sustainability, future world, polio vaccine, destiny, nature, survival and life & purpose. Episode: "Man Evolving..."
Thank you my friend Maj Marty Hogan for making us aware that October 28 is the anniversary of the birth of American medical researcher and virologist Jonas Edward Salk who "discovered and developed one of the first successful polio vaccines."
Rest in peace Jonas Edward Salk
Background from thoughtco.com/jonas-salk-biography-4171970
"Biography of Jonas Salk: Inventor of the Polio Vaccine
byRobert Longley
Updated July 09, 2018
Jonas Salk (October 28, 1914 – October 28, 1995) was an American medical researcher and physician. While serving as the head of the Virus Research Lab at the University of Pittsburgh, Salk discovered and perfected the first vaccine found to be safe and effective in preventing polio or infantile paralysis, one of the most-feared and crippling diseases of the early 20th century.
Early Life and Education
Born in New York City to European immigrants Daniel and Dora Salk on October 28, 1914, Jonas resided in the New York Boroughs of the Bronx and Queens with his parents and his two younger brothers, Herman and Lee. Though they were poor, Salk’s parents stressed the importance of education to their sons.
At age 13, Salk entered Townsend Harris High School, a public school for intellectually gifted students. After completing high school in just three years, Salk attended the City College of New York (CCNY), earning a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry in 1934. After earning his M.D. from New York University in 1939, Salk served a two-year medical internship at New York City’s Mount Sinai Hospital. As a result of his efforts at Mount Sinai, Salk was awarded a fellowship to the University of Michigan, where he studied alongside renowned epidemiologist Dr. Thomas Francis Jr., in an attempt to develop a vaccine for the flu virus.
Personal and Family Life
Salk married social worker Donna Lindsay on the day after he graduated from medical school in 1939. Before divorcing in 1968, the couple had three sons: Peter, Darrell, and Jonathan. In 1970, Salk married Françoise Gilot, a French painter and former romantic partner of Pablo Picasso.
Development of the Salk Polio Vaccine
In 1947, Salk was named head of the University of Pittsburgh’s Virus Research Lab, where he began his history-making research on polio. In 1948, with added funding from President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis—now called the March of Dimes—Salk expanded his laboratory and research team.
By 1951, Salk had identified three distinct strains of the polio virus and had developed a vaccine he believed would prevent the disease. Known as a “killed virus,” the vaccine utilized laboratory-grown live polio viruses that had been made chemically incapable of reproducing. Once in the patient’s bloodstream, the vaccine’s benign polio virus tricked the immune system into producing disease-fighting antibodies without the risk of exposing healthy patients to live polio virus. Salk’s use of “killed virus” was looked at skeptically by most virologists at the time, especially Dr. Albert Sabin, who believed that only live viruses could be effective in vaccines.
Testing and Approval
After preliminary tests on laboratory animals proved successful, Salk began testing his polio vaccine on children on July 2, 1952. In one of the largest medical tests in history, nearly 2 million young “polio pioneers” were injected with the vaccine over the next two years. In 1953, Salk tested the still-experimental vaccine on himself and his wife and sons.
On April 12, 1955, the Salk polio vaccine was declared safe and effective. The headlines screamed, “Polio is Conquered!” as celebrations erupted across the nation. Suddenly a national hero, the 40-year-old Salk was given a special presidential citation by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in a White House ceremony. A tearful Eisenhower told the young researcher, “I have no words to thank you. I am very, very happy.”
Impact of the Salk Vaccine
The Salk vaccine had an immediate impact. In 1952, the College of Physicians of Philadelphia had reported more than 57,000 cases of polio in the United States. By 1962, that number had fallen to less than one thousand. Salk’s vaccine would soon be replaced by Albert Sabin’s live virus vaccine because it was less expensive to produce and could be administered orally rather than by injection.
On the day his vaccine was declared “safe, effective and potent,” Salk was interviewed by legendary television news anchor Edward R. Murrow. When asked who owned the patent, Salk replied, “Well, the people, I would say,” referring to the millions of dollars for research and testing raised by the March of Dimes campaign. He added, “There is no patent. Could you patent the sun?”
Philosophical Views
Jonas Salk subscribed to his own unique philosophy he called “biophilosophy.” Salk described biophilosophy as a “biological, evolutionary point of view to philosophical, cultural, social and psychological problems.” He wrote several books on the topic of biophilosophy throughout his lifetime.
In a 1980 interview by the New York Times, Salk shared his thoughts on biophilosophy and how drastic changes in the human population would bring new innovative ways of thinking about human nature and medicine. “I think of biological knowledge as providing useful analogies for understanding human nature,” he said. “People think of biology in terms of such practical matters as drugs, but its contribution to knowledge about living systems and ourselves will in the future be equally important.”
Honors and Awards
Defeating polio brought Salk a raft of honors from politicians, colleges, hospitals, and public health organizations. A few of the most notable of these include:
• 1955: awarded a special presidential citation from U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
• 1955: given the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Meritorious Service Medal.
• 1958: elected to the Polio Hall of Fame, a part of the Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation in Warm Springs, Georgia.
• 1975: awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.
• 1976: awarded the Academy of Achievement's Golden Plate Award.
• 1977: given the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Jimmy Carter.
• 2012: in honor of Salk’s birthday, October 24 was designated “World Polio Day.”
In addition, several noted universities and medical colleges offer scholarships in Salk’s memory.
Later Years and Legacy
In 1963, Salk established and directed his own medical research organization, the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, where he and his team sought cures for diseases including cancer, multiple sclerosis, and diabetes. After being named the institute’s founding director in 1975, Salk would continue to study AIDS, HIV, Alzheimer’s, and aging until his death. Salk died of heart disease at age 80 on June 23, 1995, at his home in La Jolla, California.
While he will always be remembered as the man who stopped polio, Salk contributed to other advances in the fields of medicine, biology, philosophy, and even architecture. As a staunch advocate for the practical, rather than the theoretical, use of scientific research, Salk was responsible for several advances in vaccinology—the creation of vaccines for the treatment of human and animal diseases. In addition, Salk’s unique “biophilosophical” view of human life and society led him to create the field of psychoneuroimmunology—the study of the effect of the mind on health and resistance to disease.
Jonas Salk Fast Facts
• Full Name: Jonas Edward Salk
• Known For: Developed first successful polio vaccine
• Born: October 28, 1914 in New York City, New York, U.S.A.
• Parents: Daniel and Dora Salk
• Died: June 23, 1995 in La Jolla, California
• Education: City College of New York, Bachelor of Science, 1934; New York University, M.D., 1939
• Published Works: Man Unfolding (1972); Survival of the Wisest (1973); How Like an Angel: Biology and the Nature of Man (1975); World Population and Human Values: A New Reality (1981); Anatomy of Reality: Merging of Intuition and Reason (1983)
• Most Notable Awards: Presidential Citation (1955); Congressional Gold Medal (1975); Presidential Medal of Freedom (1977)
• Spouses' Names: Donna Lindsay (1939-1968); Françoise Gilot (1970)
• Children's Names: Peter, Darrell, and Jonathan
• Famous Quote: “I feel that the greatest reward for doing is the opportunity to do more.” (after receiving Congressional Medal for Distinguished Civilian Achievement in 1956)
Sources
• “About Jonas Salk – Salk Institute for Biological Studies.” Salk Institute for Biological Studies
• Glueck, Grace. "Salk Studies Man's Future" The New York Times, April 8, 1980
• Oshinsk, David. “‘Jonas Salk: A Life,’ by Charlotte DeCroes Jacobs.” New York Times book review, June 5, 2015
• “A Science Odyssey: People and Discoveries: Salk produces polio vaccine.” PBS.org"
OpenMind - Interview with Dr. Jonas Salk (1985)
"Featuring: sustainability, future world, polio vaccine, destiny, nature, survival and life & purpose."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liQzs6qqYQg
FYI LTC John Griscom LTC Wayne Brandon CPT Jim Gallagher] 1SG John Millan MSgt John McGowanMSgt David M. SSgt Boyd HerrstSSG Diane R.SPC Andrew RossSSG Donald H "Don" BatesSP5 Jerry MuchaSGT John Meredith Sgt (Join to see) LCpl Emanuel W. SPC William Weedman LTC Ivan Raiklin, Esq.
Thank you for mentioning me my friend SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL
Rest in peace Jonas Edward Salk
Background from thoughtco.com/jonas-salk-biography-4171970
"Biography of Jonas Salk: Inventor of the Polio Vaccine
byRobert Longley
Updated July 09, 2018
Jonas Salk (October 28, 1914 – October 28, 1995) was an American medical researcher and physician. While serving as the head of the Virus Research Lab at the University of Pittsburgh, Salk discovered and perfected the first vaccine found to be safe and effective in preventing polio or infantile paralysis, one of the most-feared and crippling diseases of the early 20th century.
Early Life and Education
Born in New York City to European immigrants Daniel and Dora Salk on October 28, 1914, Jonas resided in the New York Boroughs of the Bronx and Queens with his parents and his two younger brothers, Herman and Lee. Though they were poor, Salk’s parents stressed the importance of education to their sons.
At age 13, Salk entered Townsend Harris High School, a public school for intellectually gifted students. After completing high school in just three years, Salk attended the City College of New York (CCNY), earning a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry in 1934. After earning his M.D. from New York University in 1939, Salk served a two-year medical internship at New York City’s Mount Sinai Hospital. As a result of his efforts at Mount Sinai, Salk was awarded a fellowship to the University of Michigan, where he studied alongside renowned epidemiologist Dr. Thomas Francis Jr., in an attempt to develop a vaccine for the flu virus.
Personal and Family Life
Salk married social worker Donna Lindsay on the day after he graduated from medical school in 1939. Before divorcing in 1968, the couple had three sons: Peter, Darrell, and Jonathan. In 1970, Salk married Françoise Gilot, a French painter and former romantic partner of Pablo Picasso.
Development of the Salk Polio Vaccine
In 1947, Salk was named head of the University of Pittsburgh’s Virus Research Lab, where he began his history-making research on polio. In 1948, with added funding from President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis—now called the March of Dimes—Salk expanded his laboratory and research team.
By 1951, Salk had identified three distinct strains of the polio virus and had developed a vaccine he believed would prevent the disease. Known as a “killed virus,” the vaccine utilized laboratory-grown live polio viruses that had been made chemically incapable of reproducing. Once in the patient’s bloodstream, the vaccine’s benign polio virus tricked the immune system into producing disease-fighting antibodies without the risk of exposing healthy patients to live polio virus. Salk’s use of “killed virus” was looked at skeptically by most virologists at the time, especially Dr. Albert Sabin, who believed that only live viruses could be effective in vaccines.
Testing and Approval
After preliminary tests on laboratory animals proved successful, Salk began testing his polio vaccine on children on July 2, 1952. In one of the largest medical tests in history, nearly 2 million young “polio pioneers” were injected with the vaccine over the next two years. In 1953, Salk tested the still-experimental vaccine on himself and his wife and sons.
On April 12, 1955, the Salk polio vaccine was declared safe and effective. The headlines screamed, “Polio is Conquered!” as celebrations erupted across the nation. Suddenly a national hero, the 40-year-old Salk was given a special presidential citation by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in a White House ceremony. A tearful Eisenhower told the young researcher, “I have no words to thank you. I am very, very happy.”
Impact of the Salk Vaccine
The Salk vaccine had an immediate impact. In 1952, the College of Physicians of Philadelphia had reported more than 57,000 cases of polio in the United States. By 1962, that number had fallen to less than one thousand. Salk’s vaccine would soon be replaced by Albert Sabin’s live virus vaccine because it was less expensive to produce and could be administered orally rather than by injection.
On the day his vaccine was declared “safe, effective and potent,” Salk was interviewed by legendary television news anchor Edward R. Murrow. When asked who owned the patent, Salk replied, “Well, the people, I would say,” referring to the millions of dollars for research and testing raised by the March of Dimes campaign. He added, “There is no patent. Could you patent the sun?”
Philosophical Views
Jonas Salk subscribed to his own unique philosophy he called “biophilosophy.” Salk described biophilosophy as a “biological, evolutionary point of view to philosophical, cultural, social and psychological problems.” He wrote several books on the topic of biophilosophy throughout his lifetime.
In a 1980 interview by the New York Times, Salk shared his thoughts on biophilosophy and how drastic changes in the human population would bring new innovative ways of thinking about human nature and medicine. “I think of biological knowledge as providing useful analogies for understanding human nature,” he said. “People think of biology in terms of such practical matters as drugs, but its contribution to knowledge about living systems and ourselves will in the future be equally important.”
Honors and Awards
Defeating polio brought Salk a raft of honors from politicians, colleges, hospitals, and public health organizations. A few of the most notable of these include:
• 1955: awarded a special presidential citation from U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
• 1955: given the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Meritorious Service Medal.
• 1958: elected to the Polio Hall of Fame, a part of the Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation in Warm Springs, Georgia.
• 1975: awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.
• 1976: awarded the Academy of Achievement's Golden Plate Award.
• 1977: given the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Jimmy Carter.
• 2012: in honor of Salk’s birthday, October 24 was designated “World Polio Day.”
In addition, several noted universities and medical colleges offer scholarships in Salk’s memory.
Later Years and Legacy
In 1963, Salk established and directed his own medical research organization, the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, where he and his team sought cures for diseases including cancer, multiple sclerosis, and diabetes. After being named the institute’s founding director in 1975, Salk would continue to study AIDS, HIV, Alzheimer’s, and aging until his death. Salk died of heart disease at age 80 on June 23, 1995, at his home in La Jolla, California.
While he will always be remembered as the man who stopped polio, Salk contributed to other advances in the fields of medicine, biology, philosophy, and even architecture. As a staunch advocate for the practical, rather than the theoretical, use of scientific research, Salk was responsible for several advances in vaccinology—the creation of vaccines for the treatment of human and animal diseases. In addition, Salk’s unique “biophilosophical” view of human life and society led him to create the field of psychoneuroimmunology—the study of the effect of the mind on health and resistance to disease.
Jonas Salk Fast Facts
• Full Name: Jonas Edward Salk
• Known For: Developed first successful polio vaccine
• Born: October 28, 1914 in New York City, New York, U.S.A.
• Parents: Daniel and Dora Salk
• Died: June 23, 1995 in La Jolla, California
• Education: City College of New York, Bachelor of Science, 1934; New York University, M.D., 1939
• Published Works: Man Unfolding (1972); Survival of the Wisest (1973); How Like an Angel: Biology and the Nature of Man (1975); World Population and Human Values: A New Reality (1981); Anatomy of Reality: Merging of Intuition and Reason (1983)
• Most Notable Awards: Presidential Citation (1955); Congressional Gold Medal (1975); Presidential Medal of Freedom (1977)
• Spouses' Names: Donna Lindsay (1939-1968); Françoise Gilot (1970)
• Children's Names: Peter, Darrell, and Jonathan
• Famous Quote: “I feel that the greatest reward for doing is the opportunity to do more.” (after receiving Congressional Medal for Distinguished Civilian Achievement in 1956)
Sources
• “About Jonas Salk – Salk Institute for Biological Studies.” Salk Institute for Biological Studies
• Glueck, Grace. "Salk Studies Man's Future" The New York Times, April 8, 1980
• Oshinsk, David. “‘Jonas Salk: A Life,’ by Charlotte DeCroes Jacobs.” New York Times book review, June 5, 2015
• “A Science Odyssey: People and Discoveries: Salk produces polio vaccine.” PBS.org"
OpenMind - Interview with Dr. Jonas Salk (1985)
"Featuring: sustainability, future world, polio vaccine, destiny, nature, survival and life & purpose."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liQzs6qqYQg
FYI LTC John Griscom LTC Wayne Brandon CPT Jim Gallagher] 1SG John Millan MSgt John McGowanMSgt David M. SSgt Boyd HerrstSSG Diane R.SPC Andrew RossSSG Donald H "Don" BatesSP5 Jerry MuchaSGT John Meredith Sgt (Join to see) LCpl Emanuel W. SPC William Weedman LTC Ivan Raiklin, Esq.
Thank you for mentioning me my friend SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL
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Maj Marty Hogan There seems to be a new illness that is similar to polio, attacking the young. Hope it is stopped quickly.
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