Hans Zinsser (November 17, 1878 – September 4, 1940) was an American physician,

bacteriologist A bacteriologist is a microbiologist, or similarly trained professional, in bacteriology -- a subdivision of microbiology that studies bacteria, typically pathogenic ones. Bacteriologists are interested in studying and learning about bacteria, ...

, and prolific author. The author of over 200 books and medical articles, he was also a published poet. Some of his verses were published in ''

The Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

''. "Zinsser, Hans". ''National Cyclopaedia of American Biography''. New York: James T. White Company. 1950. Volume XXXVI, pp. 35-36. His 1940 publication, '' As I Remember Him: the Biography of R.S.'', won one of the early National Book Awards, the sixth and last annual award for Nonfiction voted by members of the American Booksellers Association. "Books and Authors", ''The New York Times'', 1936-04-12, p. BR12. ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times (1851-2007). "Books and Authors", ''The New York Times'', 1941-02-16, p. BR12. ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times (1851-2007). He is remembered especially for his 1935 book, ''

Rats, Lice and History ''Rats, Lice and History'' is a 1935 book written by biologist Hans Zinsser on the subject of typhus, a disease on which he performed significant research. Zinsser frames the book as a biography of the infectious disease, tracing its path through ...

''.

Biography

Early life

The son of German immigrants, Zinsser was born in New York City in 1878. He attended Timothy Dwight School on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. He received his undergraduate degree from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1899 and completed both a master's degree and a doctorate in medicine there in 1903. In 1905, he married Ruby Handforth Kunz, eldest daughter of the mineralogist, George Frederick Kunz, and they had two children, Hans Handforth and Gretel Zinsser, and they all lived in Boston.

Career

After holding a series of academic medicine positions, Zinsser became an associate professor at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...

in 1910. In 1913, he moved to a position at his ''alma mater''. At Columbia, he was the doctoral advisor of Rebecca Lancefield, although he did not permit her to physically work in his laboratory due to her gender. Ten years later, Zinsser was hired by

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is cons ...

, where he stayed — except for service in the US Army Medical Corps in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

— until his death. Distservmedal

Zinsser taught as an exchange professor and worked with the

American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the des ...

in France, Russia, Serbia and China, and was noted for his work in

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure. ...

and

immunology Immunology is a branch of medicineImmunology for Medical Students, Roderick Nairn, Matthew Helbert, Mosby, 2007 and biology that covers the medical study of immune systems in humans, animals, plants and sapient species. In such we can see ther ...

. He became a

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colon ...

in the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

and served overseas during World War I. He was awarded the

Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation. Examples include: *Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action * Distinguishe ...

, the citation for which read as follows "For exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services-- while acting as Sanitation Inspector of the Second Army he organized, perfected and administered with extraordinary and exceptional success a plan of military sanitation and epidemic-disease control." Zinsser also received another military citation for taking exceptional risks to minister to wounded soldiers while under direct enemy fire. He was also awarded the

Order of St. Sava The Royal Order of St. Sava is an Order of merit, first awarded by the Kingdom of Serbia in 1883 and later by the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. It was awarded to nationals and foreigners for meritorious ach ...

of Serbia and the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleo ...

in France. Zinsser's scientific work focused on bacteriology and immunology and he is most associated with

, especially the form called

Brill–Zinsser disease Brill–Zinsser disease is a delayed relapse of epidemic typhus, caused by ''Rickettsia prowazekii''. After a patient contracts epidemic typhus from the fecal matter of an infected louse (''Pediculus humanus''), the rickettsia can remain latent an ...

, his namesake. He isolated the typhus bacterium and developed a protective

vaccine A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious or malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verified.

. He wrote several books about

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary ...

and bacteria, notably ''Rats, Lice and History'' (1935), a "biography" of typhus fever. Zinsser had a strong influence on the work of Albert Coons (1912–1978), who developed the technique of

immunohistochemistry Immunohistochemistry (IHC) is the most common application of immunostaining. It involves the process of selectively identifying antigens (proteins) in cells of a tissue section by exploiting the principle of antibodies binding specifically to ant ...

. Zinsser was a mentor to, and colleague of,

John Franklin Enders John Franklin Enders (February 10, 1897 – September 8, 1985) was an American biomedical scientist and Nobel Laureate. Enders has been called "The Father of Modern Vaccines." Life and education Enders was born in West Hartford, Connecticut on ...

, who was awarded the 1954

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, accordi ...

(together with

Frederick Chapman Robbins Frederick Chapman Robbins (August 25, 1916 – August 4, 2003) was an American pediatrician and virologist. He was born in Auburn, Alabama, and grew up in Columbia, Missouri, attending David H. Hickman High School. He received the Nobel Prize in P ...

and Thomas Huckle Weller). Hans Zinsser Gravesite

Zinsser succumbed to acute leukemia in 1940. He is interred in

Sleepy Hollow Cemetery Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Sleepy Hollow, New York, is the final resting place of numerous famous figures, including Washington Irving, whose 1820 short story " The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is set in the adjacent burying ground at the Old Dutch ...

Sleepy Hollow, New York Sleepy Hollow is a village in the town of Mount Pleasant, New York, Mount Pleasant, in Westchester County, New York, United States. The village is located on the east bank of the Hudson River, about north of New York City, and is served by the ...

References

External links

National Academy of Sciences: Biographical Memoirs for Hans Zinsser

Hans Zinsser Papers
at The Center for the History of Medicine at the Countway Library, Harvard Medical School. {{DEFAULTSORT:Zinsser, Hans 1878 births 1940 deaths Columbia Medical School faculty Stanford University faculty Harvard Medical School faculty American agnostics National Book Award winners Recipients of the Order of St. Sava Recipients of the Legion of Honour Burials at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery American people of German descent Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Deaths from leukemia American military personnel of World War I United States Army Medical Corps officers Vaccinologists Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons alumni Columbia College (New York) alumni Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences

Biography

Early life

Career

References

Further reading

External links