Colonel Bailey Kelly Ashford (September 18, 1873 – November 1, 1934) was an American physician who had a military career in the United States Army, and afterward taught full-time at the School of Tropical Medicine in Puerto Rico, which he helped establish in San Juan. A pioneering physician in the treatment of anemia, Ashford organized and conducted a parasite treatment campaign against

hookworm Hookworms are Gastrointestinal tract, intestinal, Hematophagy, blood-feeding, parasitic Nematode, roundworms that cause types of infection known as helminthiases. Hookworm infection is found in many parts of the world, and is common in areas with ...

while stationed in Puerto Rico. This cured approximately 300,000 persons (one-third of the Puerto Rico population) and reduced the death rate from associated

anemia Anemia (also spelt anaemia in British English) is a blood disorder in which the blood has a reduced ability to carry oxygen. This can be due to a lower than normal number of red blood cells, a reduction in the amount of hemoglobin availabl ...

by 90 percent. He was a founding member of the Puerto Rico Anemia Commission.

Early years

Ashford was born in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, on September 18, 1873, as one of five children in the family of Francis Ashford, a prominent physician, and his wife. His general education was obtained at the public schools and at Columbian University in Washington, D.C. (now

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

). In 1896, he graduated from the Georgetown University School of Medicine. He served as a resident physician in several area hospitals. Commissioned lieutenant in the United States Army Medical Corps in November 1897, Ashford accompanied the military expedition to

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

in 1898 during the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

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Personal life

Ashford made Puerto Rico his adopted home, marrying a local woman, María López Nussa. They had three children: Mahlon, Margarita, and Gloria María.

Professional life

Hookworm treatment

Serving as the medical officer in the general military hospital in

Ponce, Puerto Rico Ponce ( , , ) is a city and a Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The most populated city outside the San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan metropolitan area, Ponce was founded on August 12, 1692Some publ ...

, in 1899 he was the first to describe and successfully treat

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. He was a tireless clinician and conducted an exhaustive study of the

caused by hookworm infestation, which was the leading cause of death and responsible for as many as 12,000 deaths a year. From 1903 to 1904, together with his colleague Pedro Gutiérrez Igaravídez, he organized and conducted a parasite treatment and education campaign, which treated approximately 300,000 persons (one-third of the Puerto Rico population). This work reduced the death rate from this anemia by 90 percent. Through Ashford's professor,

Charles Wardell Stiles Charles Wardell Stiles (May 15, 1867 – January 24, 1941) was an American parasitology, parasitologist born in Spring Valley, New York. He was notable for working on a campaign against hookworm infestation in the American South, where it had bee ...

, his work also led to the creation of a seminal campaign to fight hookworm in the

American South The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is census regions United States Census Bureau. It is between the Atlantic Ocean and the ...

that was funded by

John D. Rockefeller John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was one of the List of richest Americans in history, wealthiest Americans of all time and one of the richest people in modern hist ...

Anemia treatment

Captain Ashford was a founding member of the Puerto Rico Anemia Commission. By special authority of the Secretary of War, he served on the Commission from 1904 to 1906.

School of Tropical Medicine

In 1911, his proposal for an Institute of Tropical Medicine (Later renamed School of Tropical Medicine) in Puerto Rico was approved by Antonio R. Barceló, the president of the Puerto Rican Senate. He pushed for passage of the legislation to authorize the school, and Governor

Horace Mann Towner Horace Mann Towner (October 23, 1855 – November 23, 1937) was an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Iowa's 8th congressional district and appointed the governor of Puerto Rico. In a ...

and his cabinet proceeded to create it.''Puerto Rico Por Encima de Todo: Vida y Obra de Antonio R. Barceló, 1868–1938''; by: Delma S. Arrigoitia; Publisher: Ediciones Puerto (January 2008); After serving as a commander of the Army Medical Department's First Division during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Colonel Ashford was assigned to

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

. He campaigned for the development of "a real school of tropical medicine in the American tropics". Ashford was promoted to lieutenant colonel in July 1916 and colonel in May 1917. During

, he left Puerto Rico to serve as director of the U.S. Army Sanitary School in Langres, France. The School of Tropical Medicine of Puerto Rico was formally dedicated in 1925. Ashford retired from active duty on February 10, 1928. After a 30-year

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

career as a military doctor, he assumed a full-time faculty position at the School, where he continued his interest in tropical medicine. Together with doctors Isaac González Martínez and Ramón M. Suárez Calderon, he continued to carry out experiments related to anemia. The

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Universidad de Puerto Rico;'' often shortened to UPR) is the main List of state and territorial universities in the United States, public university system in the Commonwealth (U.S. i ...

campus at Rio Piedras, the building of the Institute of Tropical Medicine (see drawings) in Puerta de Tierra, San Juan, is one of the few examples of the Neo-Plateresque architectural style in the Island.

Legacy and honors

In his honor, the main avenue in the

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...

district of Condado, bears his name as does the Ashford Presbyterian Community Hospital as well as the Ashford Medical Center, also in Condado. Built in 1912 on Ashford Avenue, his home is preserved as a museum known as the ''Casa de Cultura Dr. Bailey K. Ashford'' (Dr. Bailey K. Ashford Culture House). In 1911, Ashford was conferred the honorary degree of Doctor of Science by Georgetown University. In 1915, he was nominated for the

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, acco ...

by Georgetown University professors George M. Kober and Francis A. Tondorf. In 1925, Ashford was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for his World War I service. In 1941, The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene established the "Bailey K. Ashford Medal". This is awarded for distinguished work in tropical medicine to a worker in his or her early or mid-career. The first person to receive the award was Lloyd E. Rozeboom. The medal is awarded every year, and more than one award may be given. Ashford died on November 1, 1934, in his home in San Juan. Originally buried at the

Fort Brooke Fort Brooke was a historical military post established at the mouth of the Hillsborough River (Florida), Hillsborough River in present-day Tampa, Florida in 1824. Its original purpose was to serve as a check on and trading post for the native S ...

Military Cemetery, his remains were re-interred at Puerto Rico National Cemetery in the city of Bayamón on April 20, 1954.

References

External links

Walter Reed Army Medical Center - Bailey K. Ashford

Ashford Presbyterian Community Hospital
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashford, Bailey 1873 births 1934 deaths Columbian College of Arts and Sciences alumni Georgetown University School of Medicine alumni Physicians from Washington, D.C. Military personnel from Washington, D.C. United States Army Medical Corps officers American military personnel of the Spanish–American War Puerto Rican tropical physicians Founders of American schools and colleges American male non-fiction writers American medical academics American medical writers United States Army colonels United States Army personnel of World War I Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) People from San Juan, Puerto Rico Burials at Puerto Rico National Cemetery Puerto Rican military doctors