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United States National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health

Finding Aid to the Frederick F. Russell Papers, 1898-1958

TABLE OF CONTENTS


Descriptive Summary

Biographical/Historical Note

Collection Summary

Index Terms

Administrative Information

Restrictions

Series Descriptions

Biographical, 1898-1959

Correspondence, 1912-1955

Papers and Presentations, 1908-1955

Awards, 1917-1958


Archives and Modern Manuscripts Program, History of Medicine Division

Processed by Daniel J. Lavoie II; Processing Completed October 2004

Encoded by John P. Rees


Descriptive Summary

Collection Number: MS C 546
Creator: Russell, Frederick F.
Title: Frederick F. Russell Papers
Dates: 1898-1958
Quantity: 0.42 linear feet
Abstract: Russell as an early researcher into the inoculation of typhoid. He was assigned the duty of implementing an immunization program within the U.S. Army from 1910-1911. Following his military career he served as the director of the International Health Board of the Rockefeller Foundation continuing his public health research focusing on yellow fever.

Biographical/Historical Note

Frederick Fuller Russell (1870-1960) was born in Auburn, New York. He received his Doctor of Medicine from Columbia University in 1893 and his Doctor of Science from George Washington University in 1917. In 1898 he was commissioned as first lieutenant in the Medical Corps of the U.S. Army.

It was during his time in the Medical Corps that he began his research into the inoculation of soldiers against typhoid. In 1908 Surgeon General O'Reilly sent Russell to England to observe the work of Sir Almorth Wright, Professor at the Royal Army Medical College, who had been experimenting with a method of prophylaxis with killed culture of typhoid organisms to immunize against the disease. Upon Russell's return he submitted a report on Wright's research, which O'Reilly considered as "a very valuable treatise on the epidemiology of this disease."

As a result of the report Russell was assigned the duty of implementing an immunization program within the U.S. Army. In 1910 he inoculated his first group of volunteers and by 1911 vaccination became compulsory. From a morbidity of 173 cases in 1910, Russell was able to reduce the total to nine cases in 1912 with only one death.

During his career he served as curator of the Army Medical Museum, instructor in the Army Medical School, and professor of pathology and bacteriology at George Washington University. In addition, he served on various investigating boards, one of which he was able to advise and offer technical counsel to Carl Darnall in the development of a water filter for field use and the first water chlorinator using gaseous chlorine.

After his resignation from the US Army Medical Corps in 1920, Russell returned to the rolls as a reserve officer and in November of 1921 was appointed Brigadier General of the Medical Officers Reserve Corps. Following his military career he served as the director of the International Health Board of the Rockefeller Foundation. As director, Russell continued his research into public health focusing on diseases such as yellow fever. He spent the final years of his career in medical science and administration as professor of epidemiology and preventive medicine at Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health from 1936 to 1939.

Fredrick Fuller Russell died on December 29, 1960.

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Collection Summary

Papers, correspondence, presentations, appointments, and awards (1898-1958; 0.47 l.f.) document the medical career of Frederick Fuller Russell. The majority of the collection covers his public health work concerning typhoid and yellow fever. Of significant interest are the file folders "Typhoid Proceedings and Memos", and "Papers, Presentations, and Awards". These papers document his early research and the subsequent implementation of the U.S. Army's typhoid vaccination of 1911.

There are no laboratory reports, notes, or correspondence in this collection.

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Restrictions

Restrictions

Collection is not restricted. Contact the Reference Staff for information regarding access. For online customer service, please visit custserv@nlm.nih.gov.

Copyright

Copyright was transferred to the public domain. Contact the Reference Staff for details regarding rights. For online customer service, please visit custserv@nlm.nih.gov.

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Index Terms

These terms are indexed in the National Library of Medicine's online catalog LocatorPlus. Researchers wishing to find related materials should search the catalog using these terms.
MeSH Subjects
Epidemiology
Military Medicine
Typhus, Epidemic Louse-Borne
Personal Names
Simmons, James Stevens, 1890-
Corporate Names
Rockefeller Foundation. International Health Board
United States. Army. Medical Corps

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Russell, Frederick F. Frederick F. Russell Papers. 1898-1958. Located in: Modern Manuscripts Collection, History of Medicine Division, National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD; MS C 546.

Provenance

Found by Phil Teigen in the HMD stacks, July 6, 1989, Acc. #

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Series Descriptions

 

Biographical, 1898-1959

Box Folder
1 1 1898-1942
1 2 US Army Medical Corps, 1954-1959

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Correspondence, 1912-1955

Box Folder
1 3 US Army Medical Corps, 1912-1935
1 4 Awards, 1932-1949
1 5 Simmons, J. S., 1949-1955

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Papers and Presentations, 1908-1955

Box Folder
1 6 Typhoid Proceedings and Memos, 1908
1 7 Papers, Presentations, and Photographs, 1908-1949
1 8-10 Papers, Presentations, and Awards, 1924-1955
1 11 Vedder, Edward B. Article, 1935
Map Drawer 3 Typhoid occurrence map, Germany, 1908

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Awards, 1917-1958

Box Folder
1 12 George Washington University Invitations and Awards, 1917-1958
1 13 American College of Surgeons Fellow Certificate, 1922
1 14-15 Other, 1923-1949

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Last reviewed: 02 November 2006
Last updated: 02 November 2006
First published: 02 December 2004
Metadata| Permanence level: Permanent: Dynamic Content