Đặng Văn Ngữ (1910–1967) was a Vietnamese medical doctor and

intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator or a ...

Biography

Ngu was born on the outskirts of

Huế Huế () is the capital of Thừa Thiên Huế province in central Vietnam and was the capital of Đàng Trong from 1738 to 1775 and of Vietnam during the Nguyễn dynasty from 1802 to 1945. The city served as the old Imperial City and admi ...

on April 4, 1910. In 1937, he graduated from the Indochina Medical University. He became an assistant to the French physician and professor Henry Galliard, dean of the Department of Bacteriology at the school. In 1942, he directed the bacteriology lab and completed 19 research topics. In 1943, he studied in Japan, and became the President of the Patriotic Vietnamese Society in Japan in 1945. In 1949, he returned to Vietnam and joined the

Viet Minh The Việt Minh (; abbreviated from , chữ Nôm and Hán tự: ; french: Ligue pour l'indépendance du Viêt Nam, ) was a national independence coalition formed at Pác Bó by Hồ Chí Minh on 19 May 1941. Also known as the Việt Minh Fro ...

resisting against French rule, becoming the lead lecturer in bacteriology in the Medical School at Chiêm Hóa. During his time in the Viet Minh, he successfully researched a method to manufacture

penicillin Penicillins (P, PCN or PEN) are a group of β-lactam antibiotics originally obtained from ''Penicillium'' moulds, principally '' P. chrysogenum'' and '' P. rubens''. Most penicillins in clinical use are synthesised by P. chrysogenum using ...

. In 1955, he founded the Vietnamese Institute of Malaria - Bacteriology and Insects, and became its first director. During the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, he researched ways to prevent and treat

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

in Vietnam. On April 1, 1967, he was killed in an American bombing in the

Annamite Range The Annamite Range or the Annamese Mountains (french: Chaîne annamitique; lo, ພູ ຫລວງ ''Phou Luang''; vi, Dãy (núi) Trường Sơn) is a major mountain range of eastern Indochina, extending approximately through Laos, Vietnam, ...

while in Thừa Thiên–Huế Province while researching malaria. He was awarded the

Ho Chi Minh Prize Ho (or the transliterations He or Heo) may refer to: People Language and ethnicity * Ho people, an ethnic group of India ** Ho language, a tribal language in India * Hani people, or Ho people, an ethnic group in China, Laos and Vietnam * Hiri Mo ...

for his contributions to medical research. Vietnamese bacteriologists 1910 births 1967 deaths People from Huế Nhân Văn–Giai Phẩm affair 20th-century Vietnamese physicians Vietnam War casualties {{vietnam-med-bio-stub