The War Research Service (WRS) was a civilian agency of the

United States government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct ...

established during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

to pursue research relating to

biological warfare Biological warfare, also known as germ warfare, is the use of biological toxins or Pathogen, infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, insects, and Fungus, fungi with the intent to kill, harm or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an ...

. Established in May 1942 by

Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

Henry L. Stimson Henry Lewis Stimson (September 21, 1867 – October 20, 1950) was an American statesman, lawyer, and Republican Party politician. Over his long career, he emerged as a leading figure in U.S. foreign policy by serving in both Republican and Demo ...

, the WRS was embedded in the

Federal Security Agency The Federal Security Agency (FSA) was an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the United States government established in 1939 pursuant to the Reorganization Act of 1939. For a time, the agency oversaw food ...

, the federal agency that administered

Social Security Welfare spending is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifically to social insurance ...

and other

New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...

programs in the administration of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

. Headed by George W. Merck, president of the Merck & Co. pharmaceutical firm, the WRS was headquartered at

Fort Detrick, Maryland Fort Detrick () is a United States Army Futures Command installation located in Frederick, Maryland. Fort Detrick was the center of the U.S. biological weapons program from 1943 to 1969. Since the discontinuation of that program, it has hosted m ...

. Being a civilian agency, the WRS was initially tasked to supervise the military

Chemical Warfare Service The Chemical Corps is the branch of the United States Army tasked with defending against and using chemical weapon, chemical, biological agent, biological, radiological weapon, radiological, and nuclear weapon, nuclear (Chemical, biological, r ...

's biological program. However, the WRS was disbanded in 1944, and the weapons research was continued under the exclusive oversight of the CWS.Luther E. Lindler, Frank J. Lebeda, George Korch
Biological Weapons Defense: Infectious Diseases and Counterbioterrorism
Humana Press, 2005, , p. 156

References

* ttps://archive.today/20121212025732/http://www.detrick.army.mil/cutting_edge/index.cfm?chapter=chapter4 ''Cutting Edge: A History of Fort Detrick'' (Chapter 4) Agencies of the United States government during World War II Biological warfare Defunct agencies of the United States government Government agencies established in 1942 Government agencies disestablished in 1944 Fort Detrick 1942 establishments in the United States 1944 disestablishments in the United States {{US-gov-stub