Harry Luman Russell (March 12, 1866 – April 11, 1954) was an American bacteriologist and educator.
Biography
Rusell was born in
Poynette, Wisconsin
Poynette is a village in Columbia County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,590 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Poynette was named after Pierre Paquette (1796–1836), an early fu ...
,
[ ] the son of country doctor
E. Fred Russell and his wife Lucinda E. Waldron,
he attended
Poynette High School Poynette High School is a secondary school in Poynette, Wisconsin
Poynette is a village in Columbia County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,590 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
P ...
before matriculating to the
University of Wisconsin
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
in 1884.
Following his graduation with a B.S in 1888, he undertook graduate studies in Biology and received his M.S. in 1890. He went to Europe for further study under
Robert Koch
Heinrich Hermann Robert Koch ( , ; 11 December 1843 – 27 May 1910) was a German physician and microbiologist. As the discoverer of the specific causative agents of deadly infectious diseases including tuberculosis, cholera (though the Vibrio ...
and
Louis Pasteur
Louis Pasteur (, ; 27 December 1822 – 28 September 1895) was a French chemist and microbiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, microbial fermentation and pasteurization, the latter of which was named afte ...
;
first at 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 o ...
, then at the Zoological Station in Naples, and finally at the
Pasteur Institute
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.
Returning to the U.S., he attended
Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...
, where he was awarded a Ph.D. in 1892 with a dissertation titled ''Bacteria in Their Relation to Vegetable Tissue''.
He became a fellow at the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
in 1892, then joined the faculty of the University of Wisconsin the following year as an assistant professor. On December 20, 1893, he married Hannah May Delany (1868–1914);
[ ] the couple had four children; Gertude Estelle (1895–1922), Eldon Babcock (1900–1997), Donald (died at 9 months in 1897), and an unnamed son (died at 15 days in 1901). He became a full professor in 1896.
In 1903, he was named director of the Wisconsin state hygienic laboratory
and became dean of the University of Wisconsin College of Agriculture in 1907,
succeeding William Arnon Henry.
In 1931, he stepped down from his post as Dean when he was named director of the University of Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.
Russell was a charter member of the
American Society for Microbiology
The American Society for Microbiology (ASM), originally the Society of American Bacteriologists, is a professional organization for scientists who study viruses, bacteria, fungi, algae, and protozoa as well as other aspects of microbiology. It ...
and was named its president in 1908. He served as the president of the Wisconsin tuberculosis sanitaria advisory board, chaired the American Banker's Association agriculture advisory committee, and president of the American Association of Land Grant Colleges and Universities. Among his scientific investigations was a method for more thorough pasteurization of milk, the cold curing of cheese, and
tuberculin
Tuberculin, also known as purified protein derivative, is a combination of proteins that are used in the diagnosis of tuberculosis. This use is referred to as the tuberculin skin test and is recommended only for those at high risk. Reliable admin ...
testing of cows.
He demonstrated that canned vegetables could be preserved without harm by cooking them within the can.
Bibliography
* ''Outlines of dairy bacteriology''
(1894) with
E. G. Hastings
* ''A bacterial rot of cabbage and allied plants'' (1898)
* ''Agricultural bacteriology''
(1898) with E. G. Hastings
* ''Public water supplies'' (1901)
with F. E. Turncaure
* ''Experimental dairy bacteriology''
(1914) with E. G. Hastings
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Harry Luman
1866 births
1954 deaths
People from Poynette, Wisconsin
American bacteriologists
University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni
Johns Hopkins University alumni
University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty