Simeon Burt Wolbach (3 July 1880 – 19 March 1954) was an American pathologist, researcher, teacher, and journal editor who elucidated the infection vectors for

Rocky Mountain spotted fever Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) is a bacterial disease spread by ticks. It typically begins with a fever and headache, which is followed a few days later with the development of a rash. The rash is generally made up of small spots of bleedin ...

and epidemic typhus. He was president of the

American Association of Pathologists and Bacteriologists The American Association of Pathologists and Bacteriologists (AAPB) was an American national professional association established in 1901, devoted to fundamental science and academic medicine as distinct from clinical medicine. In 1976, they joined ...

and of the American Society for Experimental Pathology. Born the son of banker Samuel N. Wolbach and Rosa Stein, he was raised in a Jewish home in rural Nebraska in the

wild west The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

era. He went east to study in Boston and remained there most of his life. He married Anna F. Wellington in 1914 and had three children.

Education

Harvard

Lawrence Scientific School The Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) is the engineering school within Harvard University's Faculty of Arts and Sciences, offering degrees in engineering and applied sciences to graduate students admitted ...

, then

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...

M.D. 1903

Boston City Hospital The Boston City Hospital (1864–1996), in Boston, Massachusetts, was a public hospital, located in the South End. It was "intended for the use and comfort of poor patients, to whom medical care will be provided at the expense of the city, and . ...

postgraduate studies in pathology with

Frank Burr Mallory Frank Burr Mallory (November 12, 1862 – September 27, 1941) was an American pathologist at the Boston City Hospital and Professor of Pathology at Harvard Medical School, after whom the Mallory body is named. The Pathology Department at Bost ...

and William T. Councilman 1903-05

Career

In 1905, he returned to Harvard Medical School to work in pathology as an assistant under Councilman, while he was also the pathologist to the Boston Lying-In Hospital and the

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

chronic care hospital. Three years later he became the director of Bender Hygienic Laboratory (today part of St. Peter's Healthcare) in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...

, while an adjunct professor and department head of pathology and

bacteriology Bacteriology is the branch and specialty of biology that studies the morphology, ecology, genetics and biochemistry of bacteria as well as many other aspects related to them. This subdivision of microbiology involves the identification, classificat ...

Albany Medical College Albany Medical College (AMC) is a private medical school in Albany, New York. It was founded in 1839 by Alden March and James H. Armsby and is one of the oldest medical schools in the nation. The college is part of the Albany Medical Center, which ...

. He spent 1909 at

Montreal General Hospital The Montreal General Hospital (MGH) (french: Hôpital Général de Montréal) is a hospital in Montreal, Quebec, Canada established in the years 1818-1820. The hospital received its charter in 1823. It is currently part of the McGill University ...

and

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

, then in 1910 returned to Harvard's Department of Bacteriology under Harold Clarence Ernst, Harold C. Ernst. In 1914 he became an associate professor of pathology and bacteriology there, then in 1922 was made the head of pathology, occupying the chair as Shattuck Professor of Pathological Anatomy. From 1922 to 47 he was at

Peter Bent Brigham Hospital Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) is the second largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and the largest hospital in the Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Along with Massachusetts General Hospital, it is one of the two fo ...

and

Children's Hospital of Boston Boston Children's Hospital formerly known as Children's Hospital Boston until 2012 is a nationally ranked, freestanding acute care Pediatrics, children's hospital located in Boston, Massachusetts, adjacent both to its teaching affiliate, Harvard ...

as chief of pathology. In 1938 he was elected to the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

Research

Wolbach's early research was into the effects of radiation on skin with Porter. Later field work in Africa got him interested in tropical parasitology. Working with McGill parasitologist John L. Todd, they carried uninfected lice (feeding them on their persons) to Poland in 1920 in order to demonstrate that lice transmit

Rickettsia prowazekii ''Rickettsia prowazekii'' is a species of gram-negative, alphaproteobacteria, obligate intracellular parasitic, aerobic bacillus bacteria that is the etiologic agent of epidemic typhus, transmitted in the feces of lice. In North America, the ...

, the organism which causes epidemic typhus. For this work he received the rank of Commander in the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on al ...

. Wolbach turned his attention to childhood development and vitamin deficiencies. Working with J.M. Coppoletta at Brigham and Children's, he developed tables of weights of vital organs for different ages and body lengths which became a definitive reference for pediatric pathology.

Publications

* * * * * * * *

References

External links