Jonas Salk
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Charlotte DeCroes Jacobs 2015
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Jacobs, Charlotte.
Jonas Salk : a life / Charlotte DeCroes Jacobs.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 9780199334414 (hardback)
ebook ISBN 9780199334438
1. Salk, Jonas, 19141995. 2. VirologistsUnited StatesBiography.
3. PoliomyelitisUnited StatesHistory. 4. PoliomyelitisVaccination United StatesHistory. 5. Poliomyelitis vaccineHistory.
6. Influenza vaccinesHistory. 7. AIDS vaccines. I. Title.
QR31.S25J33 2015
579.2092dc23
[B]
2014040267
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
To my husband, Rod
Unless otherwise indicated, all quotations are taken from interviews conducted by the author between June 2004 and May 2013.
Contents
Jonas Salk
In Americas first major polio epidemic, during the summer of 1916, a baby died approximately every two-and-a-half hours. Assuming polio behaved like other contagious diseases, the health commissioner ordered every family bearing a case quarantined. March of Dimes Foundation
During the great influenza epidemic of 1918, emergency hospitals were set up in auditoriums, gymnasiums, churches, and mansions. The carnage left 850,000 Americans dead, twenty million worldwide. Courtesy of Special Collections Department, Iowa State University Library
Dora and Daniel Salk with sons Herman, Jonas, and Lee. Dora was a tough taskmaster. Jonas inherited her work ethic and learned how to maneuver around her iron will, a skill that would help him later when confronted by the politics of science. Courtesy of the Family of Jonas Salk
Jonas had few fond memories of childhood. By the time he entered high school, he was a driven, focused, serious individual. Courtesy of the Family of Jonas Salk
Although Jonas aspired to be a high school big shot, he was excluded from Arista, the elite student society. In the society of the chosen few, Jonas should have been chosen, too read the caption under his yearbook picture. Seth Poppel Yearbook Library/Townsend Harris High School Archives
When Jonas Salk spotted Donna Lindsay on the beach in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, he saw much to attract him. Initially Donna was not swept away by Jonas, but he resolved to marry her. She relinquished her career, raised their three sons, and stood by her husbands side during the polio vaccine saga. But she could not play the celebrity wife. Courtesy of the Family of Jonas Salk
A young girl confined to an iron lung. For over fifty years, no one could predict where or when the next epidemic would strike. No one knew what it was, or how it spread, or why it had arrived to attack the youngest, most innocent, most precious part of the population. No one had any idea how to prevent its terrible toll. (A Paralyzing Fear: The Triumph Over Polio in America, 15). March of Dimes Foundation
Jonas Salk and Julius Youngner discussing polio vaccine safety test results. Youngner later complained that Salk not only failed to give him proper recognition but also took credit for one of his ideas. Jonas Salk Papers, Special Collections and Archives, UC San Diego
Jonas Salk with Basil OConnor, the bold, blunt, domineering boss of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (NFIP). In Doc, Salk said he had found a kindred soul. They would help each other realize their dreams and sustain each other through their darkest hours. Jonas Salk Papers, Special Collections and Archives, UC San Diego
Iron lung respirators and rocking beds at Rancho Los Amigos Rehabilitation Center in Hondo, CA. When epidemiologists forecast that 1952 would be a record year for polio, Jonas Salk told Harry Weaver, research director for the NFIP, that the time had come to test his vaccine in human subjects. March of Dimes Foundation