Walter Reed MD (1851 - 1902)

Born 13 Sep 1851 in Gloucester Co, Virginia, USA

Descendants

Died 22 Nov 1902 at age 51 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA

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Biography

Walter Reed MD is Notable.

Walter Reed MD lived in Virginia.

The U.S. Army physician who in 1901 led the team that postulated and confirmed the theory that yellow fever is transmitted by a particular mosquito species, rather than by direct contact. This insight gave impetus to the new fields of epidemiology and biomedicine.

Walter Reed was born in Gloucester County, Virginia, to Lemuel Sutton Reed (a Methodist minister) and Pharaba White. He is (still) the youngest student of the University of Virginia to receive an MD degree, at age 19 in 1869.

Married Emilie Lawrence (1876). They raised 3 children:

1. Walter Lawrence Reed, born at Ft. Apache on December 4, 1877
2. Emilie Reed, called Blossom, born at Ft. Omaha on July 12, 1883
3. Susie Reed, an adopted Native American daughter

In November 1902, Reed's appendix ruptured; he died on November 22, 1902, of the resulting peritonitis, at age 51. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Walter Reed was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal on February 28, 1929, for discovering the cause and means of transmission of yellow fever. The award was amended on July 2, 1956 and September 2, 1958, to include the names of Gustaf E. Lambert and Roger P. Ames for their contributions as well.

In 1940, a 5-cent postage stamp was issued in his honor in the Famous American Scientists series.

Sources

• Wikipedia: Walter Reed
• Wilson, Tracy V. and Holley Frey. "James Webb and NASA’s Early Days." Stuff You Missed in History Class (Podcast). 21 Nov 2016. HowStuffWorks (Web). 26 Nov 2016
• Gold Medal Recipients, House of Representatives historian