Theobald Smith
| Theobald Smith | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
July 31, 1859 Albany, New York |
| Died | December 10, 1934 (aged 75) New York City, New York |
| Nationality | American |
| Fields | Epidemiology |
| Institutions | US Department of Agriculture, Harvard University, Rockefeller University |
| Alma mater | Cornell University, Albany Medical College |
| Known for | Texas cattle fever, Salmonella |
| Notable awards |
Manson Medal (1932) Copley Medal (1933) |
Theobald Smith ForMemRS (July 31, 1859 – December 10, 1934) was a pioneering epidemiologist and pathologist and is widely considered to be America's first internationally significant medical research scientist.
Smith was born in Albany, New York, and received a Bachelor of Philosophy degree from Cornell University in 1881, followed by an MD from Albany Medical College in 1883. After his graduation from medical school, Smith held a variety of temporary positions which might broadly be considered under the modern heading of "medical laboratory technician". After some prodding by his former professors, Smith secured a new research lab assistant position with the Veterinary Division of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Washington, D.C., beginning his position there in December 1883.
Smith became the Inspector of the newly created Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) in 1884. Established by Congress to combat a wide range of animal diseases—from infectious disease of swine to bovine pneumonia, Texas cattle fever to glanders—Smith worked under Daniel E. Salmon, a veterinarian and Chief of the BAI. Smith also discovered the bacterial species which would eventually form the genus Salmonella. After two years of work studying the efficacy of bacterial vaccination in pigs, Smith erroneously believed he had found the causative agent of hog cholera.
Smith turned his attention to Texas fever, a debilitating cattle disease. In 1889, he along with the veterinarian F.L. Kilbourne discovered Babesia bigemina, the tick-borne protozoan parasite responsible for Texas fever. This marked the first time that an arthropod had been definitively linked with the transmission of an infectious disease and presaged the eventual discovery of insects as important vectors in a number of diseases (see yellow fever, malaria).
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