Loring Vinton Miner (1860–1935) was an American physician who is most notable for being the first in the world to identify and describe the

Spanish flu The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...

Early life and education

Loring Miner was born in 1860 in Kansas. He graduated from

Ohio University Ohio University is a Public university, public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confeder ...

. He received his M.D. from Columbus Medical College, in 1886. He was also self taught in ancient Greek and could easily read classics in the original language.

Career

He began his medical practice in

Haskell County, Kansas Haskell County (county code HS) is a U.S. county, county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the county population was 3,780. Its county seat and most populous city is Sublette, Kansas, Sublette ...

in 1885. Although he owned one of the first automobiles in this rural area, he relied on a horse and buggy to make house calls at farms and villages throughout the county. In addition to being a physician, he also served as the county's coroner for a time, as well as county health officer and as a chair in the county's chapter of the Democratic Party. He also owned a grocery store and drugstore.

Spanish flu

In 1918, he became the first person in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

to report the outbreak of the

to the US Health Service. Following the severe illness and death of an elderly woman patient, his practice was besieged with numerous patients, including young and formerly healthy people, suffering with similar symptoms. Due to the efforts of Loring Miner, it has been theorized that the

originated in

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

Death

He died in an automobile accident in Sublette, Kansas, on 30 September 1935. He is buried in the Valley View Cemetery, Garden City, Kansas.

References

External links

Biography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miner, Loring Spanish flu Physicians from Kansas 1860 births 1935 deaths Ohio University alumni Ohio State University College of Medicine alumni 19th-century American physicians 20th-century American physicians People from Haskell County, Kansas