Founded by U.S. Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 Brigadier General

Brigadier General

Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...

 George Miller Sternberg

George Miller Sternberg

Brigadier General George Miller Sternberg was a U.S. Army physician who is considered the first U.S. bacteriologist, having written Manual of Bacteriology...

, MD

Doctor of Medicine

Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...

 in 1893, the Army Medical School (AMS) was by some reckonings the world's first school of public health

Public health

Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...

 and preventive medicine

Preventive medicine

Preventive medicine or preventive care refers to measures taken to prevent diseases, rather than curing them or treating their symptoms...

. (The other institution vying for this distinction is the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health (1916).) The AMS ultimately became the Army Medical Center (1923), then the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research

Walter Reed Army Institute of Research

This article is about the U.S. Army medical research institute . Otherwise, see Walter Reed .The Walter Reed Army Institute of Research is the largest biomedical research facility administered by the U.S. Department of Defense...

(1953).

History

Sternberg created the AMS by issuing "General Order

General order

In militaries, a general order is a published directive, originated by a commander, and binding upon all personnel under his command, the purpose of which is to enforce a policy or procedure unique to his unit's situation which is not otherwise addressed in applicable service regulations, military...

 51" on June 24, 1893. The School was housed, along with the Army Medical Library in the building of the Army Medical Museum and Library

Army Medical Museum and Library

The Army Medical Museum and Library of the U.S. Army was a large brick building constructed in 1887 at South B Street and 7th Street, SW, Washington, D.C., USA, which is directly on the National Mall...

 (affectionately known as the "Old Pickle Factory" or "Old Red") at 7th Street and South B Street (now Independence Avenue), SW, Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 (This site is on the National Mall

National Mall

The National Mall is an open-area national park in downtown Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The National Mall is a unit of the National Park Service , and is administered by the National Mall and Memorial Parks unit...

 where the Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum now stands.)

In 1910, the AMS relocated to 721 13th Street, NW and in 1916 to 604 Louisiana Avenue.

In 1923, the "Army Medical Center" (AMC) was created when (1) the AMS became the "Medical Department Professional Service School" (MDPSS) and (2) the MDPSS moved into "Building #40" on the grounds of the Walter Reed General Hospital (WRGH) in northern Washington, D.C.

The historic edifice known as Building #40 was constructed at 14th and Dahlia Streets beginning in 1922 and reached completion in 1932. This facility consists of four "Pavilions":

• The North or "Vedder Pavilion" (named for Col. Edward Bright Vedder
  Edward Bright Vedder
  Dr Edward Bright Vedder was a U.S. Army physician, a noted researcher on deficiency diseases, and a medical educator. He studied beriberi, a deficiency disease affecting the peripheral nerves, establishing an extract of rice bran as its proper treatment.-Biography:Vedder was born in New York City...
  
   (1878-1952) who established polished rice extract as the proper treatment for beri-beri);

• The South or "Craig Pavilion" (named for Col. Charles Franklin Craig (1872-1950) who in the Philippines
  Philippines
  The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
  
   proved (1907; with Percy M. Ashburn) dengue to be a filterable agent (virus) and later showed the mosquito Aedes aegypti
  Aedes aegypti
  The yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti is a mosquito that can spread the dengue fever, Chikungunya and yellow fever viruses, and other diseases. The mosquito can be recognized by white markings on legs and a marking in the form of a lyre on the thorax...
  
  responsible for dengue transmission);

• The East or "Sternberg Pavilion" (named for Gen. Sternberg (1838-1915), the U.S. Army Surgeon General and co-discoverer of the pneumococcus, known as the "Father of American Bacteriology");

• The West or "Siler Pavilion" (named for Col. Joseph Franklin Siler
  Joseph Franklin Siler
  Colonel Joseph Franklin Siler, MD was a U.S. Army physician noted for investigations of mosquito transmission of dengue fever in the Philippines....
  
   (1875-1960), who in 1925 first injected dengue virus in serum into humans producing disease and "closing the loop" on dengue transmissibility).

In 1947, the MDPSS became the "Army Medical Department Research and Graduate School" (AMDRGS), which in turn became the "Army Medical Service Graduate School" (AMSGS) in 1950.

In September 1951, "General Order Number 8" combined the WRGH & AMC into the present-day Walter Reed Army Medical Center

Walter Reed Army Medical Center

The Walter Reed Army Medical Center was the United States Army's flagship medical center until 2011. Located on 113 acres in Washington, D.C., it served more than 150,000 active and retired personnel from all branches of the military...

 (WRAMC). Three years later, the research elements of this facility became the present-day Walter Reed Army Institute of Research

Walter Reed Army Institute of Research

This article is about the U.S. Army medical research institute . Otherwise, see Walter Reed .The Walter Reed Army Institute of Research is the largest biomedical research facility administered by the U.S. Department of Defense...

 (WRAIR).

List of commanders

Army Medical School (1893-1923):

?????????????????????????	1893	19??
?????????????????????????	19??	19??
?????????????????????????	19??	19??
?????????????????????????	19??	19??
?????????????????????????	19??	19??
?????????????????????????	19??	19??
?????????????????????????	19??	1923

Army Medical Center (1923-1951):

?????	1923	192?
Col. Edward B. Vedder Edward Bright Vedder Dr Edward Bright Vedder was a U.S. Army physician, a noted researcher on deficiency diseases, and a medical educator. He studied beriberi, a deficiency disease affecting the peripheral nerves, establishing an extract of rice bran as its proper treatment.-Biography:Vedder was born in New York City...	192?	1929
Brig. Gen. Carl Rogers Darnall Carl Rogers Darnall Brigadier General Carl Rogers Darnall was a United States Army chemist and surgeon credited with originating the technique of liquid chlorination of drinking water...	1929	1931
?????	1931	19??
?????	19??	19??
?????	19??	19??
?????	19??	19??
?????	19??	1951

Notable people associated with the AMS and AMC

Graduates:

• Brig. Gen. Carl Rogers Darnall
  Carl Rogers Darnall
  Brigadier General Carl Rogers Darnall was a United States Army chemist and surgeon credited with originating the technique of liquid chlorination of drinking water...
  
   ('97), also Professor of Chemistry, Center Commander, developed (1910) chlorination
  Chlorination
  Chlorination is the process of adding the element chlorine to water as a method of water purification to make it fit for human consumption as drinking water...
  
   of drinking water
• Brig. Gen. Roger Brooke
  Roger Brooke
  Brigadier General Roger Brooke, M.D. was a surgeon and U.S. Army medical corps officer. Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, is named for him.-Biography:...
  
   ('02)

Others:

• Brig. Gen. George Miller Sternberg
  George Miller Sternberg
  Brigadier General George Miller Sternberg was a U.S. Army physician who is considered the first U.S. bacteriologist, having written Manual of Bacteriology...
  
  
• Major Walter Reed
  Walter Reed
  Major Walter Reed, M.D., was a U.S. Army physician who in 1900 led the team that postulated and confirmed the theory that yellow fever is transmitted by a particular mosquito species, rather than by direct contact...
  
  
• Colonel Edward Bright Vedder
  Edward Bright Vedder
  Dr Edward Bright Vedder was a U.S. Army physician, a noted researcher on deficiency diseases, and a medical educator. He studied beriberi, a deficiency disease affecting the peripheral nerves, establishing an extract of rice bran as its proper treatment.-Biography:Vedder was born in New York City...
  
  
• Charles Franklin Craig
• Colonel Joseph Franklin Siler
  Joseph Franklin Siler
  Colonel Joseph Franklin Siler, MD was a U.S. Army physician noted for investigations of mosquito transmission of dengue fever in the Philippines....
  
  
• Frederick F. Russell
  Frederick F. Russell
  Brigadier General Frederick Fuller Russell was a U.S. Army physician who developed a typhoid vaccine in 1909. In 1911, the typhoid vaccination program was only the second time an entire U.S. army was immunized. The first was in 1776 when George Washington ordered the vaccination of the...
  
  
• Maurice Hilleman
  Maurice Hilleman
  Maurice Ralph Hilleman was an American microbiologist who specialized in vaccinology and developed over three dozen vaccines, more than any other scientist...
  
  , famed vaccinologist, Chief of Dept of Respiratory Diseases (1948-51)
• Brig. Gen. Russell Callendar
  George Russell Callendar
  Brig. Gen. George Russell Callender the commandant of the Medical Department Professional Service Schools in Washington, D. C. , founding commandant of the Walter Reed Tropical Medicine Course, and author of the famous work Malaria in Panama .- Biography :George Russell Callender was born in...
  
  , Commandant when the tropical medicine course
  Walter Reed Tropical Medicine Course
  The Walter Reed Tropical Medicine Course at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research is one of the many Tropical Medicine Training Courses available in the US and worldwide . It is an intensive 5-day course created to familiarize students with tropical diseases they may encounter overseas...
  
   was created in 1941
• COL George W. Hunter III
  George W. Hunter III
  George W. Hunter III, PhD was a parasitologist and educator with the US Army Sanitary Corps and Army Medical School. He is best known for his work with Schistosoma control and with the Tropical Medicine Course at the Army Medical School...
  
  , faculty of the Tropical and Military Medicine Course
  Walter Reed Tropical Medicine Course
  The Walter Reed Tropical Medicine Course at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research is one of the many Tropical Medicine Training Courses available in the US and worldwide . It is an intensive 5-day course created to familiarize students with tropical diseases they may encounter overseas...
  
  , major contributor and founding author of the Manual of Tropical Medicine which later was retitled as Hunter's Tropical Medicine