Frederic Poole Gorham (April 29, 1871 – June 4, 1933) was an American bacteriologist and educator. Born in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

, the son of businessman Samuel Gorham and his wife Abby Harding Fish, he was educated in local schools before graduating from Providence High School in 1889 and matriculating to

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

. After graduating in 1893, he became an instructor of Biology at Brown and was awarded his A.M. in 1894 upon examination, with special studies performed at Harvard. On June 24, 1897, he was married to Emma Mary Lapham in

Burrillville, Rhode Island Burrillville is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 16,158 at the 2020 census. It was incorporated as an independent municipality on November 17, 1806 when the Rhode Island General Assembly authorized th ...

. Thereafter he became an assistant professor in 1899, then associate professor in 1901. While doing so, he attended a series of lectures at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

during 1902−1903. In 1913 he established bacteriology as a field of study at Brown University, becoming Professor of Bacteriology. In 1899, he was appointed bacteriologist for the Providence Department of Health, a post he occupied until 1933—primarily in an advisory capacity. He became secretary of the Board of Trustees of the Rhode Island State Tuberculosis Sanatorium in 1908. After helping to found the

Society of American Bacteriologists 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 wa ...

, in 1911 he was named president of the organization. Two years later he became a bacteriologist for the Rhode Island Shellfish Commission, and in 1914 the deputy milk inspector for Providence. His first wife being deceased in 1913, he married Ruth Elizabeth Bjorkchahl on January 1, 1917—they had one daughter, named Ruth. He served as chairman of the Laboratory Section for the American Public Health Association, and during 1925–1931 he served with the city park commission. In 1933, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Brown University, but died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

before he could receive it.

Bibliography

* ''A laboratory guide for the dissection of the cat: an introduction to the study of anatomy'' (1895) with R. W. Tower * ''A laboratory course in bacteriology: for the use of medical, agricultural, and industrial students'' (1897) * ''The gas-bubble disease of fish and its cause'' (1900) * ''Morphological varieties of bacillus diphtheriæ'' (1901) * ''The photogenic bacteria'' (1903) * ''Recent debts to biology'' (1904) * ''Cambrian deposits of North Attelboro'' (1905) * ''Superior Rhode Island oysters'' (1913)

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gorham, Frederic Poole 1871 births 1933 deaths People from Providence, Rhode Island American bacteriologists Brown University alumni Brown University faculty Burials at Swan Point Cemetery