Page:American Medical Biographies - Kelly, Burrage.djvu/1255

WIESENTHAL 1233 WIGGLESWORTH zootic in fowls and turkeys — known as synga- mosis, a verminous tracheobronchitis (vulgarly "the gapes") was due to a cylindrical worm, since known as Syngamus Trachealis. This worm infests the trachea, choking the young chicks. He gives an illustration of it, of nat- ural size and as magnified under the micro- scope. This probably represents the first discovery of an organism producing an epi- demic or infectious disease ever made. Dr. Wiesenthal's priority is well established. The worm was seen in England for the first time by Montagu, in 1806-1808, and did not figure in French publications till well into the latter half of the nineteenth century. See L. G. Neumann, "Traite des Maladies Parasitaires," translation by Fleming, London, 1892. The letter, which was published, as seen, after An- drew's death, is reproduced in "Old Mary- land," vol. ii, No. 4, April, 1906. Eugene F. Cordell. Wietenthal, Charles Frederick (1726-1789) He was born in Prussia in 1726, but of his family and life there is nothing known. Fam- ily tradition asserted that he was physician to Frederick the Great, and the knowledge of the details of the military service in Prussia, as displayed in his correspondence, favors the view that he was connected in some way with the army. It is not known whether he pos- sessed a medical degree or not. He arrived in Baltimore, which was first settled chiefly by Germans, in 1755, and for thirty-four years thereafter, was in active practice. Shortly after his arrival he married a lady of York, Pennsylvania, and had one son and three daughters. Naturalized in 1771, he warmly espoused the cause of the patriots and his services and advice were of the greatest value during the Revolution. In January, 1775, he was made a member of the Commit- tee of Observation of Baltimore County; March 2, 1776, he was commissioned surgeon- major of the First Maryland (Smallwood's) Battalion; in 1777 he was surgeon-general of the Maryland troops, having general charge of the medical interests of the government in Baltimore, including the hospital which he established. Dr. Wiesenthal erected buildings for a medical school and dissecting room on the rear of his lot, and these buildings were still standing in 1900. He taught many stu- dents of his time, and in 1788, while they were dissecting the body of a murderer, a mob gath- ered and broke up the proceeding. He was a leader among the Lutherans and secured the building of the first church of that denomina- tion in Baltimore (1762). Keenly desiring a law for the regulation of medical practice in the state he headed a movement for professional organization, which resulted in the formation of a medical society on November 27, 1788, of which he was elected president. His death took place on June 1, 1789, during the absence of his only son An- drew, then a student of medicine in London. He was the first physician in Baltimore to drive a four-wheeled carriage; on this was inscribed his crest and motto — "a horse's head bridled and bitted, with two crossed arrows beneath and the words Premium Virtutis." His rare and singular virt'ues and his nobility of character earned him the title "The Sydenham of Baltimore." His coat of arms, mortar and pestle, and much of his correspondence are still extant. Eugene F. Cordell. A sketch of C. F. Wiesenthal with portrait and extracts from his letters. E. F. Cordell, Johns Hopkins Hosp. Bull., Nos. 112-113, July-Aug., lOOO. Med. Reports, Idem, No. 177, Dec, 1905. Cordell's Med. Annals of Maryland, 1903. WiggIe«worth, Edward (1840-1896) Edward Wigglesworth, dermatologist, was born in Boston, December 30, 1840, and edu- cated in Chauncy Hall and the Boston Latin School, afterwards graduating from Harvard College in 1861, and from the Harvard Medi- cal School in 1865. He then studied in Lon- don, Paris and Vienna for five years, devoting especial attention to dermatology. On return- ing to this country there were but few exclu- sive practitioners of this branch of medicine, and he became one of the pioneers, devoting his life to it. It was his ambition to collect the best and rarest books, the most perfect models, and other costly means of illustrating this subject. This collection was later given to the Harvard Medical School, but his li- brary was always freely open to those who could make it useful. At his own expense he opened a dispensary for diseases of the skin, at which he continued to minister, regardless of time and expense until special departments for sbch treatment were made part of the leading medical institutions of Boston. He was for some time one of the physicians for diseases of the skin in the Boston City Hos- pital, and later became head of that depart- ment. For several years he was one of the instructors of the Harvard Medical School, and impressed upon the students the import- ance of the details necessary for the successful treatment of the repulsive and distressing mal- adies which they encountered. He was a member of a number of medical societies, including the American Dermatologi-