D. T. Watson Home for Crippled Children
Leet Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Founded here in 1917 at Sunny Hill, the former home of David and Margaret Watson, it began as a residential school for disabled children. In 1952, Dr. Jonas Salk, assisted by medical director Dr. Jessie Wright, began the first human testing of his polio vaccine here with patients, staff, and local children. Successful testing led to the 1955 approval and use of the vaccine and the eventual eradication of the debilitating disease.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
Opened in 1917 in the former Watson family home, this institution began as a residential school for children with disabilities. In 1952 it became the stage for one of medicine's great turning points: Dr. Jonas Salk, aided by medical director Dr. Jessie Wright, carried out the first human trials of his polio vaccine here, working with patients, staff, and neighborhood children. The success of those tests led to the vaccine's 1955 approval and the eventual near-eradication of a disease that had terrified a generation of American families.
Why it matters
On this hillside the polio vaccine took its first human steps, a breakthrough that lifted the shadow of paralysis from millions of children worldwide.
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Related people
- ¡ Jonas Salk
- ¡ Jessie Wright
- ¡ David Watson
- ¡ Margaret Watson
Related events
- ¡ First human trials of the polio vaccine
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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In the years after World War II, polio was one of America's most feared diseases, paralyzing thousands of children each summer. At the University of Pittsburgh's Virus Research Laboratory, a team led by Dr. Jonas Salk worked from 1948 to 1955 to develop the world's first effective polio vaccine, announcing their breakthrough to a jubilant nation on April 12, 1955. Mass inoculations of schoolchildren followed, and within a few years the disease had all but vanished from the United States.
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