Charles Wardell Stiles
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Charles Wardell Stiles (May 15, 1867 – January 24, 1941) was an American
parasitologist Parasitology is the study of parasites, their hosts, and the relationship between them. As a biological discipline, the scope of parasitology is not determined by the organism or environment in question but by their way of life. This means it ...
born in
Spring Valley, New York Spring Valley is a village in the towns of Ramapo and Clarkstown in Rockland County, New York, United States. It is located north of Chestnut Ridge, east of Airmont and Monsey, south of Hillcrest, and west of Nanuet. The population was 33, ...
. He was notable for working on a campaign against hookworm infestation in the American South, where it had been found to cause high rates of
anemia Anemia or anaemia (British English) is a blood disorder in which the blood has a reduced ability to carry oxygen due to a lower than normal number of red blood cells, or a reduction in the amount of hemoglobin. When anemia comes on slowly, t ...
, a debilitating disease.


Biography

He studied science at
Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a private liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church and with the support of prominent residents of Middletown, the col ...
in
Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...
(1885–86),
Collège de France The Collège de France (), formerly known as the ''Collège Royal'' or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment ('' grand établissement'') in France. It is located in Paris n ...
(1886–87), the
University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative ...
(1887–89) and the
University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...
(1889–90). In 1891, he continued his education at the zoological station in
Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into prov ...
and at the
Institut Pasteur The Pasteur Institute (french: Institut Pasteur) is a French non-profit private foundation dedicated to the study of biology, micro-organisms, diseases, and vaccines. It is named after Louis Pasteur, who invented pasteurization and vaccines f ...
in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
. He obtained his doctorate in
Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...
under the direction of
parasitologist Parasitology is the study of parasites, their hosts, and the relationship between them. As a biological discipline, the scope of parasitology is not determined by the organism or environment in question but by their way of life. This means it ...
Rudolf Leuckart Karl Georg Friedrich Rudolf Leuckart (7 October 1822 – 22 February 1898) was a German zoologist born in Helmstedt. He was a nephew to naturalist Friedrich Sigismund Leuckart (1794–1843). Academic career He earned his degree from the Uni ...
(1822–1898). He taught classes in medical
zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and ...
at
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM) is the medical school of Johns Hopkins University, a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1893, the School of Medicine shares a campus with the Johns Hopkins Hospi ...
and at
Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
. He also worked as a zoologist for the U.S. government at the Bureau of Animal Industry in the Department of Agriculture (1891–1902), and was later chief zoologist at the Hygienic Laboratory of the US Public Health and Marine Hospital Service (1902–1931). In 1898, Stiles was deployed to Germany as scientific ambassador on the BAI's behalf to investigate reports of
trichinosis Trichinosis, also known as trichinellosis, is a parasitic disease caused by roundworms of the '' Trichinella'' type. During the initial infection, invasion of the intestines can result in diarrhea, abdominal pain, and vomiting. Migration of ...
in American pork. The investigation concluded that the contemporary standard of microscopic examination of pork was insufficient for preventing the disease. In addition, he helped establish the Rockefeller Sanitary Commission for the Eradication of Hookworm Disease. In 1921 Stiles was awarded the
Public Welfare Medal The Public Welfare Medal is awarded by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences "in recognition of distinguished contributions in the application of science to the public welfare." It is the most prestigious honor conferred by the academy. First award ...
from the National Academy of Sciences. Stiles is remembered for his investigations of parasitic diseases such as
trichinosis Trichinosis, also known as trichinellosis, is a parasitic disease caused by roundworms of the '' Trichinella'' type. During the initial infection, invasion of the intestines can result in diarrhea, abdominal pain, and vomiting. Migration of ...
and hookworm. While working at the Department of Agriculture, he identified a new species of hookworm called ''
Necator americanus ''Necator americanus'' is a species of hookworm (a type of helminth) commonly known as the New World hookworm. Like other hookworms, it is a member of the phylum Nematoda. It is an obligatory parasitic nematode that lives in the small intestine ...
'' ("American murderer") from samples brought from
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
by his former student,
Bailey Ashford Colonel Bailey Kelly Ashford (September 28, 1873 – November 1, 1934) was an American physician who had a military career in the United States Army, and afterward taught full-time at the School of Tropical Medicine in Puerto Rico, which he hel ...
. In 1908, he diagnosed widespread hookworm infestation in the "dirt eaters" of the American South ( eating dirt is a symptom of severe anemia). Through the journalist
Walter Hines Page Walter Hines Page (August 15, 1855 – December 21, 1918) was an American journalist, publisher, and diplomat. He was the United States ambassador to the United Kingdom during World War I. He founded the ''State Chronicle'', a newspaper in Rale ...
, this led to the creation of the Rockefeller Sanitary Commission (a forerunner of the Rockefeller Foundation) campaign for the eradication of hookworm, especially in the American South. He also dealt with health and sanitation issues that involved miners and
cotton mill A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system. Although some were driven b ...
workers. Stiles was secretary of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature, a group involved in setting standards for zoological classifications.


Selected writings

* "Trichinosis in Germany", 1901 * "Index-Catalog of Medical and Veterinary Zoology", (1902–20) * "Report upon the prevalence and geographic distribution of hookworm disease ( uncinariasis or anchylostomiasis) in the United States", 1903 * "A zoological investigation into the cause, transmission, and source of Rocky Mountain "spotted fever", 1905 * "A statistical study of the prevalence of
intestinal worms An intestinal parasite infection is a condition in which a parasite infects the gastro-intestinal tract of humans and other animals. Such parasites can live anywhere in the body, but most prefer the intestinal wall. Routes of exposure and infe ...
in man", 1906 * "The Sanitary Privy: Its Purpose and Construction", 1910 * "Key-catalogue of the Protozoa reported for man", 1925 * "Key-catalogue of the worms reported for man", 1926


References

* ''Parts of this article are based on a translation of the equivalent article from the French Wikipedia.''
NIH Newsletters
Another Kind of NIH Centennial
Open Library
(bibliography) * "Applied Microscopy and American Pork Diplomacy: Charles Wardell Stiles in Germany" (1898–1899).


External links


U.S. National Animal Parasite Collection Records
(Contains historical information on parasitology research at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center from 1886 through the 1980s.) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stiles, Charles Wardell American parasitologists 1867 births 1941 deaths People from Spring Valley, New York Wesleyan University alumni Georgetown University faculty 19th-century American zoologists 20th-century American zoologists Scientists from New York (state) Presidents of the American Society of Parasitologists