Brig. Gen. Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed to ...

George Russell Callender (1884–1973) was an American physician and army officer. He was the commandant of the Medical Department Professional Service Schools in

Washington, D. C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

(now known as the

Walter Reed Army Institute of Research The Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) is the largest biomedical research facility administered by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). The institute is centered at the Forest Glen Annex, in the Forest Glen Park part of the uni ...

), founding commandant of the

Walter Reed Tropical Medicine Course The Walter Reed Tropical Medicine Course (now called 'Operational Clinical Infectious Disease' Course ) at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) is one of the many Tropical Medicine Training Courses ...

Biography

Callender was born in

Everett, Massachusetts Everett is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, directly north of Boston, bordering the neighborhood of Charlestown. The population was 49,075 at the time of the 2020 United States Census. Everett was the last city in the Un ...

on May 13, 1884. He graduated from Tufts College Medical School,

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

in 1908, was commissioned in the

Medical Reserve Corps The Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) is a network in the U.S. of community-based units initiated and established by local organizations aimed to meet the public health needs of their communities. It is sponsored by the Office of the Assistant Secretary ...

in 1912, and entered the service (

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

) on May 18, 1913. He graduated from the

Army Medical School Founded by U.S. Army Brigadier General George Miller Sternberg, MD in 1893, the Army Medical School (AMS) was by some reckonings the world's first school of public health and preventive medicine. (The other institution vying for this distinction ...

in 1913. Afterwards he served in the Hawaii Department 1916–1918 and as a

pathologist Pathology is the study of the causal, causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when us ...

at Army Medical Center in 1939. Callender became the Assistant Commandant, then Commandant of Medical Department Professional Service Schools 1940–1946. He was promoted to Brigadier General in March 1945. He retired from the Army in November 1946. Decorations included the

Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation. Examples include: *Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action * Distinguishe ...

. He was author of ''Malaria in Panama'' (1929).

Honors and awards

Callender was awarded the Richard Pearson Strong Palladium Medal by the American Foundation for Tropical Medicine in 1946. As stated in the citation accompanying the award, "Brig. Gen. Callender's supervision, guidance and research in the school contributed directly to the achievement of the lowest sick rate of any army in the history of war. His initiative and effort were largely responsible for the creation of the course in tropical medicine and for the development of extensive research activities at the

in 1941 before

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...

. As a result of the

typhus vaccine Typhus vaccines are vaccines developed to protect against typhus. As of 2020 they are not commercially available. One typhus vaccine consisted of formaldehyde-inactivated ''Rickettsia prowazekii''. Two doses were injected subcutaneously four we ...

developed in 1942 not a single United States soldier died of epidemic typhus fever." General Callender was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

, in Virginia.Burial Detail: Callender, George R (section 6, grave 2591)
– ANC Explorer

References

External links

George Russell Callender
at ArlingtonCemetery.net, an unofficial website {{DEFAULTSORT:Callender, George Russell 1884 births 1973 deaths American pathologists United States Army generals People from Everett, Massachusetts Tufts University School of Medicine alumni United States Army Medical Corps officers Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Military personnel from Massachusetts

Biography

Honors and awards

See also

References

External links