Walter James Dodd (22 April 1869 - 19 December 1916) was a physician and one of the first radiologists in the United States. He was an early innovator in the use of

X-ray An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30&nb ...

s in medicine, and suffered the consequences. He underwent over 50 surgical procedures to treat X-ray damage to his skin and had several appendages amputated. He ultimately died from X-ray induced cancer. Dodd was born in London in 1869. His father died when he was young and he was sent to Boston to live with his sister. He dropped out of school and worked as a janitor in a chemistry laboratory at

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

. He was curious about the lectures and experiments and gradually learned general chemistry impressing a Professor at Harvard. He became an

apothecary ''Apothecary'' () is a mostly archaic term for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses '' materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons, and patients. The modern chemist (British English) or pharmacist (British and North Ameri ...

Massachusetts General Hospital Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General or MGH) is the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School located in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the third oldest general hospital in the United Stat ...

in 1892, and soon after a registered pharmacist. Among the apothecary's duties was to take photographs of the hospital's patients. He quickly picked up the skills of photography, both taking photographs and developing film. In 1895,

Wilhelm Röntgen Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (; ; 27 March 184510 February 1923) was a German mechanical engineer and physicist, who, on 8 November 1895, produced and detected electromagnetic radiation in a wavelength range known as X-rays or Röntgen rays, an achiev ...

published his paper showing that X-rays could be used to take photographs of bones. Dodd quickly became the hospital's radiographer. He built several early X-ray generators. He was unaware of the dangers of X-rays and, by 1898, he had required skin grafts to repair X-ray burns. In 1900, he entered

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 ...

to become fully trained as a physician, but found he needed to be away from his work to study better. He transferred to Vermont Medical School, where he earned his MD in 1908. Dodd had visible deformities due to X-ray exposure. By 1910, he had burns and scars on his face and several fingers had been partially amputated.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dodd, Walter J 1869 births 1916 deaths Harvard Medical School alumni American radiologists Janitors