Walter Reed
Walter Reed | |
|---|---|
 Walter Reed | |
| Born | September 13, 1851 |
| Died | November 23, 1902 (aged 51) |
| Occupation | Physician in U.S. army |
| Spouse | Emilie Lawrence (m. Apr. 1876) |
| Children | one son and daughter, one adopted Indian daughter |
| Parent(s) | Lemuel Sutton Reed and Pharaba White |
Major Walter Reed, M.D., (September 13 1851 - November 23 1902) was a U.S. Army physician who in 1900 led the team which confirmed the theory (first set forth in 1881 by Cuban doctor/scientist Carlos Finlay) that yellow fever is transmitted by mosquitoes, rather than by direct contact. This insight opened entire new fields of epidemiology and biomedicine and most immediately allowed the resumption and completion of work on the Panama Canal (1904-14) by the United States.
Legacy
Reed's breakthrough in yellow fever research is widely considered a milestone in biomedicine, opening new vistas of research and humanitarianism.
- Walter Reed General Hospital (WRGH), Washington, D.C. was opened on May 1 1909, seven years after his death.
- Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) opened in 1977 as the successor to WRGH; it is the world-wide tertiary care medical center for the U.S. Army and is utilized by congressmen and presidents.
- Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR), near Washington, DC, is the largest biomedical research facility administered by the DoD.
- Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, a new hospital complex to be constructed on the grounds of the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland by 2011.
- Riverside Walter Reed Hospital in Gloucester, Virginia (near Reed's birthplace) opened on September 13, 1977 and is headed by Dr. Cross.
- Walter Reed Medal (1912 to present) was awarded posthumously to Reed for his yellow fever work.
- Walter Reed Middle School, North Hollywood, California is named in Reed's honor.
- Reed was portrayed dramatically by actor Lewis Stone in a 1938 Hollywood movie, Yellow Jack (from a 1934 play). The same storyline was again presented in television episodes (both titled “Yellow Jack”) of Celanese Theatre (1952) and of Producers' Showcase (1955), in the latter of which Reed was portrayed by actor Broderick Crawford.
- A song, "Walter Reed", was released by Michael Penn and tells of a soldier's desire to be taken to Walter Reed Medical Center.
- PBS's American Experience series broadcast a 2006 episode, The Great Fever, on the Reed yellow fever campaign.
- Walter Reed Army Medical Center Firefighters Washington D.C. IAFF F151