Mary Woodard Lasker
Mary Woodard Lasker (born November 30, 1900 in Watertown ( Wisconsin ), † February 21, 1994 in Greenwich (Connecticut) ) was an influential American activist and lobbyist for various charitable foundations and projects, particularly in medical research, welfare and healthcare. She also supported and sponsored initiatives for city beautification as well as various museums such as the Museum of Modern Art and universities.
Life
Lasker grew up as the daughter of a banker in Watertown, Wisconsin; her mother was the founder of various parks. After several ear infections in childhood, she decided at an early age to get involved in the field of medical research.
In 1923 she graduated from Radcliffe College in art history , studied briefly at Oxford before going to New York to build up the art collection of his gallery with works by modern French artists, including works by Renoir and Miró , with her future husband Paul Reinhardt . The 1926 marriage with Reinhardt was divorced after 8 years.
She then worked as a designer, bringing out a successful clothing line: The "Hollywood Patterns" were a successful series of inexpensive textiles with photos of film stars and other film motifs.
From 1938 she was also active for the first time in health care for various American non-governmental organizations for birth control, education and family planning ; she became a contributor to the Birth Control Federation of America . This organization was the forerunner of today's Planned Parenthood Federation .
In 1940 she married Albert Lasker , an American advertising entrepreneur who made a fortune with his advertising campaigns and the like. a. for Lucky Strike . He was delighted with her acumen and shared her interest in both the arts and the improvement of public health. The two founded the Lasker Foundation ; this foundation set itself the task of promoting medical research and private and public health care organizations. Through his money and Albert Lasker's contacts in high society and government circles, they were able to influence various measures; In 1945 they supported Harry S. Truman's attempt to reform the health system, which included compulsory health insurance for everyone, the construction of hospitals and a doubling of the medical staff in a 10-year plan. Two decades later, the Lyndon B. Johnson Foundation helped launch Medicare and Medicaid under the Social Security Act of 1965.
A lifelong concern of hers was the fight against cancer , to which she lost her husband in 1952; early on she criticized the American Society to Fight Cancer (ASCC) for its management and prioritization. She made sure that the organization was completely restructured, the budget increased dramatically and modern public relations and advertising techniques were used. Because cancer was considered incurable at the time, it strengthened the public's belief in medical science and that research could find cures for cancer. She placed articles in the popular Reader's Digest magazine aimed at raising awareness of early detection and regular preventive care, and commissioned radio spots to appeal to philanthropists and corporations. Previously, she had convinced David Sarnoff, the powerful head of Radio Corporation of America, that the time had come to mention the previously hushed up cancer in the ether. The little influential and doctor-dominated ACSS was renamed the American Cancer Society (ACS) through its commitment and through the influence of her husband and friends into a powerful organization that received $ 14 million in donations as early as 1948, a quarter of which was used for research purposes has been.
She later became the most prominent spokesperson for the National Cancer Act , a piece of legislation that greatly increased funding for the National Cancer Institute in 1971 and significantly expanded responsibilities. She was heavily criticized for this by some scientists, because in their opinion, with the search for a cure for cancer, she was asking more than science could do. Sol Spiegelman, director of Columbia University's Institute of Cancer Research , accused her of turning the moon landing analogy upside down with her struggle: It would be as if, in her search for a cure, she was "sending people to the moon without." to know the laws of gravity ". Others complained that the National Cancer Act was doing basic research on cancer prevention and early detection, which is the most effective way to fight cancer. The National Cancer Act, which was finally passed, was a compromise and marked the height of Lasker's influence.
Their dedicated rhetoric in the "war on cancer" raised public expectations of impending breakthroughs in cancer research and treatment. Science failed to meet these expectations, and by stating that cancer could be defeated within a few years, Lasker diminished its own political weight and contributed to the growing skepticism of Americans about modern biomedical science that had previously played a role in the unstoppable rise of the Research believed.
After her engagement in the fight against cancer, Lasker turned to other, less controversial topics in the 1970s, in particular the fight against high blood pressure (hypertension) and glaucoma (glaucoma) . She organized various campaigns for these concerns, started programs and generated various funding and financial resources. Even in the 1980s, it was still generating research funding for the fight against AIDS , arthritis , osteoporosis , diabetes and stunted growth .
Because of the lack of results in biomedical research since 1950, Lasker summed up "I did something wrong or did not do enough for the right things". However, it never abandoned its responsibility for the shortcomings of biomedical research and faced criticism.
Since childhood, Lasker loved parks and gardens and had a great interest in beautifying urban spaces. Thanks to her, three hundred donated cherry trees bloom every spring before the United Nations, and every winter Christmas trees decorate Park Avenue . The former first lady of the USA, Lady Bird Johnson, mentioned Lasker a few times in her biography A White House Diary : She called her charming and called her " ... like a setting for jewels ". They thanked her for the donated daffodils along the paths along the Potomac and thousands of azalea -Büschen, Cornus florida and other plants along the Pennsylvania Avenue .
Lasker continued to support various museums and universities in New York and Washington, DC
She died in Greenwich, Connecticut in 1994 at the age of 93; she is buried next to her husband in a private mausoleum in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Sleepy Hollow , New York.
Awards
On May 15, 2009, the United States Postal Service honored Lasker with the issue of a 78 cent postage stamp in the series of distinguished Americans. The reasoning expressly acknowledges her contributions to funding medical research and her commitment to beautifying cities.
The Lasker Foundation, which she founded with her second husband and which has been awarding annual awards for outstanding achievements in medical research since 1946, named the award for public relations and funding in the sense of medicine from the year 2000 Mary Woodard Lasker Public Service Award .
Lasker received the following highest civil awards:
- 1969 Presidential Medal of Freedom
- 1984 French Order of Merit of the Legion of Honor
- 1987 Congressional Gold Medal
- 1987 Four Freedoms Award , in the Freedom from Need category
swell
- Mary Lasker in nndb (English)
- Notable New Yorkers - Mary Lasker biography, photographs and interview with Mary Lasker from the Notable New Yorkers Collection of the Oral History Research Office of Columbia University .
- Lasker's biography at the National Library of Medicine .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Biography of the National Institutes of Health
- ^ What's New: Mary Lasker Collection Added to Profiles in Science . United States National Library of Medicine . Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved February 27, 2011.
- ^ Notable New Yorkers - Interview
- ^ Mary Lasker, 78 ¢ - USPS Stamps. In: uspsstamps.com. May 15, 2009, accessed February 1, 2016 .
- ^ Website of the Lasker Foundation
- ↑ Overview of the award winners website of the United States House of Representatives
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Lasker, Mary Woodard |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Lasker, Mary; Woodard, Mary |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American philanthropist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 30, 1900 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Watertown, Wisconsin |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 21, 1994 |
| Place of death | Greenwich (Connecticut) |