William Hallock Park (December 30, 1863 – April 6, 1939) was an American

bacteriologist A bacteriologist is a microbiologist, or similarly trained professional, in bacteriology -- a subdivision of microbiology that studies bacteria, typically Pathogenic bacteria, pathogenic ones. Bacteriologists are interested in studying and learnin ...

and laboratory director at the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Board of Health, Division of

Pathology Pathology is the study of the 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 used in ...

, Bacteriology, and Disinfection from 1893 to 1936.

Biography

Park was born on December 30, 1863, in

. In June 1883, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...

and entered the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons to study medicine. He studied pathology with

Theophil Mitchell Prudden Theophil Mitchell Prudden (1849 – April 10, 1924) was an American pathologist, born in Middlebury, Connecticut. He graduated from the Sheffield Scientific School, Yale, in 1872 and received his M. D. from Yale School of Medicine in 1875. H ...

, planning to become a nose and throat specialist. After Park graduated in 1886, he interned at

Roosevelt Hospital Mount Sinai West, opened in 1871 as Roosevelt Hospital, is affiliated with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Mount Sinai Health System. The 514-bed facility is located in the Midtown West neighborhood of New York City. The fac ...

and had a year of post-graduate study in

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, Austria. On his return to the United States in 1890, Park worked on the bacteriology of

diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild clinical course, but in some outbreaks more than 10% of those diagnosed with the disease may die. Signs and s ...

with Prudden. In 1893, Hermann Biggs, Professor of Bacteriology at New York University and Chief Inspector of the New York City Board of Health, offered Park a director's position in the municipal laboratories to continue his work on diphtheria. In 1894, Biggs telegraphed Park with the news of the discovery of the diphtheria antitoxin by

Emile Roux Emil or Emile may refer to: Literature *''Emile, or On Education'' (1762), a treatise on education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau * ''Émile'' (novel) (1827), an autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life *''Emil and the Detective ...

and

Emil von Behring Emil von Behring (; Emil Adolf von Behring), born Emil Adolf Behring (15 March 1854 – 31 March 1917), was a German physiologist who received the 1901 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, the first one awarded in that field, for his discovery ...

and instructed him to begin inoculating horses to produce antitoxin in New York City. The atypical strain of ''

Corynebacterium diphtheriae ''Corynebacterium diphtheriae'' is the pathogenic bacterium that causes diphtheria. It is also known as the Klebs–Löffler bacillus, because it was discovered in 1884 by German bacteriologists Edwin Klebs (1834–1912) and Friedrich Löffl ...

'' most widely used for the production of diphtheria toxin was discovered by

Anna Williams Anna Williams may refer to: * Anna Williams (poet) (1706–1783), writer and friend of Samuel Johnson * Anna Maria Williams (1839–1929), New Zealand teacher and school principal * Anna Wessels Williams (1863–1954), pioneering female doctor an ...

, who worked with Park. Highlights of Park's career included the establishment of the first municipal bacteriological diagnostics laboratory in the United States, the application of toxin-antitoxin

vaccine A vaccine is a biological Dosage form, preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease, infectious or cancer, malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verifie ...

s to prevent diphtheria, the demonstration of the persistence of ''Corynebacterium diphtheriae'' in the throats of people who recovered from diphtheria and its importance in the spread of the disease to others, and the publication of the widely used textbook Pathogenic Microorganisms, co-authored with Anna Williams. In addition to his work on diphtheria for which he was best known, his scientific inquiries also included studies on

scarlet fever Scarlet fever, also known as Scarlatina, is an infectious disease caused by ''Streptococcus pyogenes'' a Group A streptococcus (GAS). The infection is a type of Group A streptococcal infection (Group A strep). It most commonly affects childr ...

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

, whooping cough,

meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, headache, and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion or ...

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...

measles Measles is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by measles virus. Symptoms usually develop 10–12 days after exposure to an infected person and last 7–10 days. Initial symptoms typically include fever, often greater than , cough, ...

, and the relationship and cause of

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. Immune factors and immune ...

and infantile diarrhea. In 1932 he was awarded the Public Welfare Medal from 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 ...

and the Sedgwick Medal from the American Public Health Association. The following year, he received the Townsend Harris Medal from City College given to alumni with outstanding achievements. Although he did work on pathophysiology and immunity, his reputation in the field of microbiology was mainly for his contributions to public health and prevention of diseases. Park retired as director of the research laboratories of the Public Health Department of New York City in September 1936. He died in New York City on April 6, 1939.New York City Department of Health death index, 1939.

References

*"The Man who Lived for Tomorrow" W.W. Oliver, E.P. Dutton, New York 1941 {{DEFAULTSORT:Park, William Hallock American microbiologists American bacteriologists 1863 births 1939 deaths