Walter James Dodd (22 April 1869 – 19 December 1916) was a physician and one of the first radiologists in the United States. He was an early innovator in the use of

X-ray An X-ray (also known in many languages as Röntgen radiation) is a form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than those of ultraviolet rays and longer than those of gamma rays. Roughly, X-rays have a wavelength ran ...

s in medicine, and suffered the consequences. He underwent over 50 surgical procedures to treat X-ray damage to his skin and had several appendages amputated. He ultimately died from X-ray induced cancer.

Early life

Dodd was born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 1869. His father died when he was young and he was sent to

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

to live with his sister. He dropped out of school and worked as a janitor in a chemistry laboratory at

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

. He was curious about the lectures and experiments and gradually learned general chemistry impressing a professor at Harvard.

Career

He became an

apothecary ''Apothecary'' () is an Early Modern English, archaic English term for a medicine, medical professional who formulates and dispenses ''materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons and patients. The modern terms ''pharmacist'' and, in Brit ...

Massachusetts General Hospital Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General or MGH) is a teaching hospital located in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the original and largest clinical education and research facility of Harvard Medical School/Harvar ...

in 1892, and soon after a registered pharmacist. Among the apothecary's duties was to take photographs of the hospital's patients. He quickly picked up the skills of photography, both taking photographs and developing film. In 1895,

Wilhelm Röntgen Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (; 27 March 1845 – 10 February 1923), sometimes Transliteration, transliterated as Roentgen ( ), was a German physicist who produced and detected electromagnetic radiation in a wavelength range known as X-rays. As ...

published his paper showing that X-rays could be used to take photographs of bones. Dodd quickly became the hospital's radiographer. He built several early X-ray generators. He was unaware of the dangers of X-rays and, by 1898, he had required skin grafts to repair X-ray burns. In 1900, he entered

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is the third oldest medical school in the Un ...

to become fully trained as a physician, but found he needed to be away from his work to study better. He transferred to Vermont Medical School, where he earned his MD in 1908.

Personal life

Dodd had visible deformities due to X-ray exposure. By 1910, he had burns and scars on his face and several fingers had been partially amputated. Dodd died 19 December 1916, at his home in Boston.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dodd, Walter J 1869 births 1916 deaths Harvard Medical School alumni American radiologists Janitors