Harry Luman Russell (March 12, 1866 – April 11, 1954) was an American bacteriologist and educator.

Biography

Rusell was born in

Poynette, Wisconsin Poynette is a village in Columbia County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,590 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Poynette was named after Pierre Paquette (1796–1836), an early f ...

, the son of country doctor E. Fred Russell and his wife Lucinda E. Waldron, he attended Poynette High School before matriculating to the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

in 1884. Following his graduation with a B.S in 1888, he undertook graduate studies in Biology and received his M.S. in 1890. He went to Europe for further study under

Robert Koch Heinrich Hermann Robert Koch ( , ; 11 December 1843 – 27 May 1910) was a German physician and microbiologist. As the discoverer of the specific causative agents of deadly infectious diseases including tuberculosis, cholera (though the bacteri ...

and Louis Pasteur; first at the

University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative ...

, then at the Zoological Station in Naples, and finally at the

Pasteur Institute The Pasteur Institute (french: Institut Pasteur) is a French non-profit private foundation dedicated to the study of biology, micro-organisms, diseases, and vaccines. It is named after Louis Pasteur, who invented pasteurization and vaccines ...

in Paris. Returning to the U.S., he attended

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...

, where he was awarded a Ph.D. in 1892 with a dissertation titled ''Bacteria in Their Relation to Vegetable Tissue''. He became a fellow at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

in 1892, then joined the faculty of the University of Wisconsin the following year as an assistant professor. On December 20, 1893, he married Hannah May Delany (1868–1914); the couple had four children; Gertude Estelle (1895–1922), Eldon Babcock (1900–1997), Donald (died at 9 months in 1897), and an unnamed son (died at 15 days in 1901). He became a full professor in 1896. In 1903, he was named director of the Wisconsin state hygienic laboratory and became dean of the University of Wisconsin College of Agriculture in 1907, succeeding William Arnon Henry. In 1931, he stepped down from his post as Dean when he was named director of the University of Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. Russell was a charter member of the

American Society for Microbiology The American Society for Microbiology (ASM), originally the Society of American Bacteriologists, is a professional organization for scientists who study viruses, bacteria, fungi, algae, and protozoa as well as other aspects of microbiology. It wa ...

and was named its president in 1908. He served as the president of the Wisconsin tuberculosis sanitaria advisory board, chaired the American Banker's Association agriculture advisory committee, and president of the American Association of Land Grant Colleges and Universities. Among his scientific investigations was a method for more thorough pasteurization of milk, the cold curing of cheese, and

tuberculin Tuberculin, also known as purified protein derivative, is a combination of proteins that are used in the diagnosis of tuberculosis. This use is referred to as the tuberculin skin test and is recommended only for those at high risk. Reliable admi ...

testing of cows. He demonstrated that canned vegetables could be preserved without harm by cooking them within the can.

Bibliography

* ''Outlines of dairy bacteriology'' (1894) with E. G. Hastings * ''A bacterial rot of cabbage and allied plants'' (1898) * ''Agricultural bacteriology'' (1898) with E. G. Hastings * ''Public water supplies'' (1901) with F. E. Turncaure * ''Experimental dairy bacteriology'' (1914) with E. G. Hastings

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Harry Luman 1866 births 1954 deaths People from Poynette, Wisconsin American bacteriologists University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Johns Hopkins University alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty