Leonard White (physician)
Encyclopedia
Leonard D. White, MD was a late 19th century physician
and one of the Health Officers
in Massachusetts
who was involved with the earliest study of mosquitoes and malaria
and efforts for community prevention
of malaria
.
. He was the son of Dr. David P. and Clarissa (Darling). He married Lillian Belle Brown on July 20, 1882. They had one child, Charles W. born on March 18, 1886. Dr. White died on September 18, 1906 of heart disease.
of the Uxbridge Academy
.Uxbridge
He completed his education at Harvard Medical School
. He practiced as a generalist, a country doctor, in Uxbridge Massachusetts. He served as chairman of the Board of Health in Uxbridge.
related deaths, (1885). The description of the deaths of these two children, vaccinated two weeks earlier by an unknown practitioner is nothing less than tragic. The time period was consistent with smallpox vaccination. Tetanus toxoid would come into use, just a short time later in 1887. In 1896, Theobald Smith, state Board of Health pathologist, wrote the now local health officer at Uxbridge, Dr. White, who had published a written report to the state board of health on a local malaria
outbreak Smith warned White of mosquito
connections to malaria, later proven in 1897, by Ronald Ross
, in India
. He recommended that Dr. White ask his boy to attempt to trap some of the mosquitoes in Uxbridge, in boxes with pinholes, for further study, and take precautions with screens on the windows of buildings, drainage of collections of water, etc. Indeed there were some swampy lands near Uxbridge along the Blackstone River
, the Mumford River
and West River
. This was believed to be the first attempt at "prevention
" for malaria
. In 1905, the state board of health, ordered the town to move its water supply, due to contamination from the polluted river
.
, on Douglas Street, next to where Snowling Rd is located today. White was an example of a 19th century physician
, a country doctor, who published, and who served as a local health officer, under the Massachusetts
State Board of Health
. His contributions were significant in the history of medicine
and public health
. He was a contemporary of Walter Reed
, who contributed in 1885 to the same publication in which Dr. White's case reports of childhood vaccine related deaths appeared. Walter Reed
unlocked answers to Yellow fever
in the late 19th century. The first notion of a connection of mosquitoes transmitting diseases was from a Cuban physician, Carlos Finlay
in 1881 relating to Finaly's work with Yellow fever, later confirmed specifically for malaria by Ronald Ross
in India circa 1898. Malaria is a protozoan disease carried by aedes aegypti mosquitoes, as a "vector".
Another Harvard Medical School graduate, and contemporary of Dr. White would become renowned for public health work in Providence during the same period, Charles V. Chapin, MD. Chapin was Superintendent of public health in Providence, just 20 miles away. His contributions extended to infection control practices that remain in use to this day. They were both born in 1856, and likely crossed paths at Harvard medical school and beyond.
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
and one of the Health Officers
Health Officers
Health Officers is a common term used in the United States and elsewhere for public health officials. Public health officials may serve at the global, federal, state, county, or municipal level...
in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
who was involved with the earliest study of mosquitoes and malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
and efforts for community prevention
Preventive medicine
Preventive medicine or preventive care refers to measures taken to prevent diseases, rather than curing them or treating their symptoms...
of malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
.
Early life
Leonard D. White was born September 7, 1856 in Douglas, MassachusettsDouglas, Massachusetts
Douglas is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 8,471 as of the 2010 census. It includes the sizable Douglas State Forest, managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation .- History :...
. He was the son of Dr. David P. and Clarissa (Darling). He married Lillian Belle Brown on July 20, 1882. They had one child, Charles W. born on March 18, 1886. Dr. White died on September 18, 1906 of heart disease.
Education and career
Leonard White attended the Mowry and Goff School and was tutored by Dr. Joshua Mason MacomberJoshua Mason Macomber
Joshua Mason Macomber, A.M., M.D , was a noted educator and a physician from New Salem, Massachusetts, United States.-Early life:...
of the Uxbridge Academy
Uxbridge Academy
The Uxbridge Academy was part of what now is known as the "Uxbridge Common District" in downtown Uxbridge, Massachusetts. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Other historic buildings including some on the national historic register in this district include the Uxbridge Free...
.Uxbridge
Uxbridge, Massachusetts
Uxbridge is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It was first settled in 1662, incorporated in 1727 at Suffolk County, and named for the Earl of Uxbridge. Uxbridge is south-southeast of Worcester, north-northwest of Providence, and southwest of Boston. It is part of...
He completed his education at Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
. He practiced as a generalist, a country doctor, in Uxbridge Massachusetts. He served as chairman of the Board of Health in Uxbridge.
Significance of Career and Public Health History
Dr. Leonard White published two reports of early childhood vaccineVaccine
A vaccine is a biological preparation that improves immunity to a particular disease. A vaccine typically contains an agent that resembles a disease-causing microorganism, and is often made from weakened or killed forms of the microbe or its toxins...
related deaths, (1885). The description of the deaths of these two children, vaccinated two weeks earlier by an unknown practitioner is nothing less than tragic. The time period was consistent with smallpox vaccination. Tetanus toxoid would come into use, just a short time later in 1887. In 1896, Theobald Smith, state Board of Health pathologist, wrote the now local health officer at Uxbridge, Dr. White, who had published a written report to the state board of health on a local malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
outbreak Smith warned White of mosquito
Mosquito
Mosquitoes are members of a family of nematocerid flies: the Culicidae . The word Mosquito is from the Spanish and Portuguese for little fly...
connections to malaria, later proven in 1897, by Ronald Ross
Ronald Ross
Sir Ronald Ross KCB FRS was a British doctor who received the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1902 for his work on malaria. He was the first Indian-born person to win a Nobel Prize...
, in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. He recommended that Dr. White ask his boy to attempt to trap some of the mosquitoes in Uxbridge, in boxes with pinholes, for further study, and take precautions with screens on the windows of buildings, drainage of collections of water, etc. Indeed there were some swampy lands near Uxbridge along the Blackstone River
Blackstone River
The Blackstone River is a river in the U.S. states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It flows approximately 48 mi and drains a watershed of approximately 540 sq. mi...
, the Mumford River
Mumford River
The Mumford River is an river in south-central Massachusetts. It is a tributary of the Blackstone River.The river rises from its headwaters in Sutton and Douglas at Manchaug Pond and flows east in a meandering path through a series of ponds , and joins the Blackstone River in Uxbridge.The river...
and West River
West River (Massachusetts)
The West River, in the US state of Massachusetts, is a tributary of the Blackstone River.-Course:It originates in the towns of Grafton and Upton, Massachusetts, near the Upton State Forest, at Silver Lake and Cider Mill Pond in Grafton, and crosses into the eastern portion of Northbridge, passes...
. This was believed to be the first attempt at "prevention
Preventive medicine
Preventive medicine or preventive care refers to measures taken to prevent diseases, rather than curing them or treating their symptoms...
" for malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
. In 1905, the state board of health, ordered the town to move its water supply, due to contamination from the polluted river
Mumford River
The Mumford River is an river in south-central Massachusetts. It is a tributary of the Blackstone River.The river rises from its headwaters in Sutton and Douglas at Manchaug Pond and flows east in a meandering path through a series of ponds , and joins the Blackstone River in Uxbridge.The river...
.
Afterwards
Dr. Leonard White's house was in UxbridgeUxbridge, Massachusetts
Uxbridge is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It was first settled in 1662, incorporated in 1727 at Suffolk County, and named for the Earl of Uxbridge. Uxbridge is south-southeast of Worcester, north-northwest of Providence, and southwest of Boston. It is part of...
, on Douglas Street, next to where Snowling Rd is located today. White was an example of a 19th century physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, a country doctor, who published, and who served as a local health officer, under the Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
State Board of 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...
. His contributions were significant in the history of medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
and 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...
. He was a contemporary of 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...
, who contributed in 1885 to the same publication in which Dr. White's case reports of childhood vaccine related deaths appeared. 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...
unlocked answers to Yellow fever
Yellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....
in the late 19th century. The first notion of a connection of mosquitoes transmitting diseases was from a Cuban physician, Carlos Finlay
Carlos Finlay
Carlos Juan Finlay was a Cuban physician and scientist recognized as a pioneer in yellow fever research.- Early life and education :...
in 1881 relating to Finaly's work with Yellow fever, later confirmed specifically for malaria by Ronald Ross
Ronald Ross
Sir Ronald Ross KCB FRS was a British doctor who received the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1902 for his work on malaria. He was the first Indian-born person to win a Nobel Prize...
in India circa 1898. Malaria is a protozoan disease carried by aedes aegypti mosquitoes, as a "vector".
Another Harvard Medical School graduate, and contemporary of Dr. White would become renowned for public health work in Providence during the same period, Charles V. Chapin, MD. Chapin was Superintendent of public health in Providence, just 20 miles away. His contributions extended to infection control practices that remain in use to this day. They were both born in 1856, and likely crossed paths at Harvard medical school and beyond.