William C. Gorgas

William C. Gorgas

William Crawford Gorgas (October 3, 1854 – July 3, 1920) was a United States Army physician and 22nd Surgeon General of the U.S. Army. He is best known for his work in sanitation and public health, particularly in the control of yellow fever and malaria in Panama during the construction of the Panama Canal.

Early Life and Education

William C. Gorgas was born in Mobile, Alabama, to Josiah Gorgas and Amelia Gayle Gorgas. His father was a Confederate general and his mother was the daughter of John Gayle, a former governor of Alabama. Gorgas attended the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, and later graduated from the Bellevue Hospital Medical College in New York City in 1879.

Career

Gorgas joined the United States Army Medical Corps in 1880. He was stationed in various locations, including Texas and Florida, where he gained experience in dealing with tropical diseases. His breakthrough came when he was assigned to Havana, Cuba, in 1898, following the Spanish-American War. There, he implemented sanitation measures that significantly reduced the incidence of yellow fever.

Work in Panama

In 1904, Gorgas was appointed Chief Sanitary Officer of the Panama Canal Zone. At the time, the construction of the canal was plagued by high mortality rates due to yellow fever and malaria. Gorgas applied the principles of vector control that he had developed in Cuba, focusing on eliminating the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the vector for yellow fever, and the Anopheles mosquito, the vector for malaria. His efforts were highly successful, leading to a dramatic decrease in disease and enabling the completion of the canal.

Later Life and Legacy

After his success in Panama, Gorgas continued to work in public health. He served as the Surgeon General of the U.S. Army from 1914 to 1918. During his tenure, he modernized the Army Medical Department and improved the health and sanitation conditions for soldiers during World War I.

Gorgas retired from the Army in 1918 and continued to work in international health until his death in 1920. He is remembered as a pioneer in tropical medicine and public health.

Honors and Recognition

Gorgas received numerous honors for his work, including honorary degrees from several universities. The Gorgas Memorial Institute of Tropical and Preventive Medicine was established in his honor, and the Gorgas Hospital in Panama was named after him.

See Also

• Panama Canal
• Yellow fever
• Malaria
• Sanitation
• Public health