Richard Weil (October 15, 1876 – November 17, 1917) was an American physician and cancer researcher.

Early life and education

Weil was the son of Leopold Weil and Martha Tanzer. A native of New York City, he graduated from Columbia College in 1896, before completing his MD degree at Columbia in 1900. Kelly, Howard Atwood, Burrage, Walter Lincoln
"American Medical Biographies"
pg. 1213 After completing his residency at the German Hospital in Manhattan, he went to Europe to pursue postgraduate research at Vienna and Strasbourg."Richard Weil, M.D."

American Association of Immunologists American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

Medical career

Weil served as part of the medical staff of numerous hospitals, including the German Hospital,

Montefiore Montefiore may refer to: People * Montefiore (surname), several people with the surname Montefiore, in particular **Sir Moses Montefiore (1784–1885), a prominent British financier, stockbroker, banker and philanthropist Places * Montefiore, a ...

, Mt. Sinai, and General Memorial. He joined the staff of

Cornell University Medical College Weill Cornell Medicine (; officially Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University), originally Cornell University Medical College, is the medical school of Cornell University, located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in Ne ...

in 1905, receiving a faculty appointment in 1911, and becoming the chair of the Department of Experimental Medicine in 1916. Weil's primary research interest was cancer. He was part of the staff of the Huntingdon Fund for Cancer Research from 1906 until his death, and was one of the founders of the

American Association for Cancer Research The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is the world's oldest and largest professional association related to cancer research. Based in Philadelphia, the AACR focuses on all aspects of cancer research, including Basic research, basic, ...

and the Journal of Cancer Research (for which he was the editor-in-chief)."Dr. Richard Weil"

British Medical Journal ''The BMJ'' is a fortnightly peer-reviewed medical journal, published by BMJ Publishing Group Ltd, which in turn is wholly-owned by the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world ...

, Br Med J. 1918 Jul 27; 2(3004): 103. He was a councilor of the AACR in 1914,"AACR Councilors and Directors: 1907-present"
/ref> and president of the

in 1916–17. One of his major medical contributions was the demonstration that blood treated with anti-coagulants could be refrigerated, which ultimately led to the establishment of

blood banks A blood bank is a center where blood gathered as a result of blood donation is stored and preserved for later use in blood transfusion. The term "blood bank" typically refers to a department of a hospital usually within a clinical pathology labor ...

.Orr, Gillian
"The Timeline: Blood Donation"

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

One of his articles on anaphylaxis was the first article to be published in the

Journal of Immunology The ''Journal of Immunology'' is a biweekly peer-reviewed medical journal that publishes basic and clinical studies in all aspects of immunology. Established in 1916, it changed its name to ''Journal of Immunology, Virus Research and Experimental C ...

Military service and death

With the American entry into World War I, Weil joined the military. After training at

Fort Benjamin Harrison Fort Benjamin Harrison was a U.S. Army post located in suburban Lawrence Township, Marion County, Indiana, northeast of Indianapolis, between 1906 and 1991. It is named for the 23rd United States president, Benjamin Harrison. History In 190 ...

, he was detailed as the chief of medical staff at

Camp Wheeler Camp Wheeler was a United States Army base near Macon, Georgia. The camp was a staging location for many US Army units during World War I and World War II. It was named for Joseph Wheeler, a general in the Confederate States of America's Army and ...

. He held this position only a short time, as he contracted

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

and died on November 17, 1917.

Personal life

Weil married Minnie Straus, daughter of

Isidor Isidore ( ; also spelled Isador, Isadore and Isidor) is a masculine given name. The name is derived from the Greek name ''Isídōros'' (Ἰσίδωρος, latinized ''Isidorus'') and can literally be translated to 'gift of Isis'. The name has survi ...

and

Ida Straus Rosalie Ida Straus (née Blün; February 6, 1849 – April 15, 1912) was a German-American homemaker and wife of Isidor Straus, U.S. Congressman and co-owner of the Macy's department store. She and her husband died during the sinking of the ' ...

, on May 30, 1904, at the Straus villa.McCash, June Hall
"A Titanic Love Story: Ida and Isidor Straus"
pg. 111 They had three children: Evelyn, Richard, and Frederick Peter. His son Richard Jr. was president of

Macy's Macy's is an American department store chain founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. The first store was located in Manhattan on Sixth Avenue between 13th and 14th Streets, south of the present-day flagship store at Herald Square on West 34 ...

."RETAIL TRADE: New Boss at Macy's"

Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps as ''TIME'') is an American news magazine based in New York City. It was published weekly for nearly a century. Starting in March 2020, it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York Cit ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weil, Richard 1876 births 1917 deaths 19th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American physicians American pathologists American medical researchers Columbia College (New York) alumni Cornell University faculty Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons alumni Deaths from pneumonia in Georgia (U.S. state) Straus family United States Army officers United States Army personnel of World War I