Dr. Walter Reed
Harrellsville, Hertford County, North Carolina
Marker Inscription
Dr. Walter Reed. Head of U.S. Yellow Fever Commission in Cuba, 1900-01. Lived here as a young man. House 200 feet south.
Erected by North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources
The Story
As a young man the future army physician Walter Reed lived at a house that stood just south of this Hertford County marker. Reed later led the U.S. Yellow Fever Commission in Cuba in 1900β01, whose experiments proved that mosquitoes, not filth, transmitted the deadly disease. That discovery opened the way to controlling yellow fever and saving countless lives.
Why it matters
Reed's mosquito research was one of the great triumphs of American medicine, making possible feats like the building of the Panama Canal and the modern conquest of a killer disease.
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Related people
- Β· Dr. Walter Reed
Themes & tags
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