Ernestine Hogan Basham Thurman (March 7, 1920 – January 22, 1987) was an American

entomologist Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...

and researcher, focusing on mosquitoes and

vector control Vector control is any method to limit or eradicate the mammals, birds, insects or other arthropods (here collectively called " vectors") which transmit disease pathogens. The most frequent type of vector control is mosquito control using a varie ...

. In 1951 she was the first woman sent by the United States to

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

to establish a malaria control program.

Early life and education

Thurman was born in

Atkins, Arkansas Atkins is a city in Pope County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 3,016 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Russellville Micropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Atkins is located at (35.243485, -92.938212). According to the U ...

on March 7, 1920. She went to primary and secondary schools in Atkins.Johnson, Phyllis T. " Ernestine Thurman-Swartzwelder 1920–1987", ''Bulletin of the Entomological Society of America'', Volume 33, Issue 3, Fall 1987, p. 180–181 She graduated from the

University of the Ozarks University of the Ozarks (U of O) is a private university in Clarksville, Arkansas, United States. Enrollment averages around 900 students, representing 25 countries. U of O is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). History Univers ...

with a B. S. degree in 1944 while employed as the head of biology at a local secondary school. In 1958, she was awarded a Ph.D. by the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

related to her work on mosquitoes in Thailand.

Career

Her interest in

mosquitoes Mosquitoes, the Culicidae, are a family of small flies consisting of 3,600 species. The word ''mosquito'' (formed by '' mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish and Portuguese for ''little fly''. Mosquitoes have a slender segmented body, ...

start in her first post at the Florida State Department of Health. She was appointed to a post in the Malaria Control in War Areas program, planned from 1940 and active from 1942, to reduce and ideally eradicate

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

in the USA through the use of

larvicide A larvicide (alternatively larvacide) is an insecticide that is specifically targeted against the larval life stage of an insect. Their most common use is against mosquitoes. Larvicides may be contact poisons, stomach poisons, growth regulators, o ...

and then

insecticide Insecticides are pesticides used to kill insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against insect eggs and larvae, respectively. The major use of insecticides is in agriculture, but they are also used in home and garden settings, i ...

s against the

disease vector In epidemiology, a disease vector is any living agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen such as a parasite or microbe, to another living organism. Agents regarded as vectors are mostly blood-sucking ( hematophagous) arthropods such ...

, the mosquito. She rose in the organisation to lead the mosquito identification unit of the Bureau of Vector Control in

Turlock, California Turlock is a city in Stanislaus County, California, United States. Its population was 72,740 at the 2020 United States census, making it the second-largest city in Stanislaus County after Modesto. History Founded on December 22, 1871, by pr ...

. Thurman was commissioned as a

United States Public Health Service The United States Public Health Service (USPHS or PHS) is a collection of agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services which manages public health, containing nine out of the department's twelve operating divisions. The assistant s ...

officer and became the first woman with the role of Scientist Director. From 1951 to 1953 she was sent with her husband to

Chiang Mai Chiang Mai, sometimes written as Chiengmai or Chiangmai, is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the List of municipalities in Thailand#Largest cities by urban population, second largest city in Thailan ...

in northern Thailand to start a malaria control program, the first woman sent with this role by the United States. She was assigned the task of malaria-control training advisor. This became a comprehensive program that included disseminating public health information, surveys of mosquitoes, and spraying with

DDT Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly known as DDT, is a colorless, tasteless, and almost odorless crystalline chemical compound, an organochloride. Originally developed as an insecticide, it became infamous for its environmental impacts. ...

as well as training medical and technical officers. It resulted in a reduction in cases of malaria and also acted as a model for later mosquito control efforts. Thurman returned to the US in 1953 to a post at the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...

's Microbiology Institute in Bethesda, Maryland as executive secretary for the Study Section on Tropical Medicine, Division of Research Grants of the

. She retired from the public health service with the rank of captain. In 1967, she was appointed as an associate professor in pathology at the Louisiana State University Medical Center with a primary role in research administration. After resigning from this post she was a research fellow at the Center for the Study of Women at

Tulane University The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it b ...

where she was active in measures to remove barriers to women's advancement in science careers.

Honors

In 1963 she was awarded the

National Defense Service Medal The National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is a service award of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It was awarded to every member of the U.S. Armed Forces who served during any one of four s ...

for her work in 1954. She received the National Achievement Award of the Phi Delta Gamma in 1984. She received an alumni award from the College of the Ozarks.

Personal life

She met Deed C. Thurman through her work and later married him. He died of malaria and typhoid fever in 1953. They had two children, Deed C. Thurman III and Phyllis L. Thurman. After he died, she moved to

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Located just northwest of Washington, D.C., it is a major business and government center of the Washington metropolitan region ...

and enrolled in graduate school. In 1964 she married J. Clyde Swartzwelder and moved to New Orleans, Louisiana. Swatzweider was a professor emeritus at the Louisiana State University. She died of cancer on January 22, 1987 in Virginia. She is buried in

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

Publications

Thurman was the author or co-author of at least 40 publications. These included: * E. B. Thurman (1962
Asia: a challenge to scientists.
''AIBS Bull.'' 12 24–7. * E. B. Thurman (1959
Robert Evans Snodgrass, insect anatomist and morphologist.
''Smithson Misc Collect.'' 137. * E. Thurman and P. Johnson (1950) The taxonomic characters of the larvae of the genus Culiseta Felt, 1904 in California. ''Pan-Pac Entomol.'' 26 179–87. * E. B. Basham (1948) ''Culex'' (''Melanoconion'') ''mulrennani'', a new species from Florida (Diptera: Culicidae). ''Ann Entomol Soc Am''. 41 1–7.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thurman, Ernestine H. B. 1920 births 1987 deaths American entomologists 20th-century American women scientists University System of Maryland alumni United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps officers 20th-century American zoologists