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February, 1943 The Health Bulletin 7 Dr. Franklin By Robert D. Wright, M. D. Division of Epidemiology North Carolina State Board of Health Raleigh, North Carolina ONLY occasionally in the history of the human race has there occurred the miracle of a man whose interests were as un-specialized as his powers were prodigal. For these rare men of genius the mechanism of social machinery, the physical explanation of a soap bubble, the mystery of the human body, the creative arts, the riddle of the universe, could each in its turn hold equal fascination. Wherever they turned their eyes new light fell. To some, these lonely giants are the flower of an epoch; for others, they are the seed. Ancient Greece had Aristotle; the Renaissance, Leonardo Da Vinci: our era, Benjamin Franklin. January 17th is the 236th birthday anniversary of this first American scientist whom millions of his countrymen unfortunately remember only as the frugal school boy who rose to riches by temperance and industry, to fame by capturing lightning with a kite, to eminence by some hazy activity in the founding of our nation. To many of us, as a pioneer in medical knowledge he is not known at all. No Doctor of Medicine was Benjamin Franklin, but his knowledge of the subject and contributions to it were far greater than those of many of his contemporaries who laid claim to the title. It is probably not inaccurate to say that we would know Franklin today as the father of American medicine had he not been so eminent in other fields. The medical profession may claim Franklin as one of its own for he was a member of the Royal Medical Society of Paris and an honorary member of the Medical Society of London, in addition to holding membership in several medical societies in the United States. As a champion of fresh air, exercise, and frequent bathing he stands as an American pioneer in the field of hygiene. His advocacy of inoculation and studies in the vital statistics of smallpox attest his discerning interest in preventive medicine. To ophthalmology he made the important contribution of bifocal lenses. His contributions to the diagnosis of lead poisoning are classical. His able unmasking of mesmerism makes psychiatry his debtor. Franklin approached medicine as he did every other aspect of life—with a searching curiosity which was as probing as it was non-specific. This generality of interest is well shown by the endless variety and casual-ness of his observations. His contributions were presented with a disarming naturalness, as if what he explained were too obvious not to be already known. Hardly a field of medical knowledge (or indeed of any knowledge) escaped the useful interest of this man's insatiable curiosity. His medical ideas diluted by a thousand other interests and presented without pomp or attempt at effect lie buried beneath his greatness as a philosopher and statesman. On Drinking Probably Franklin's earliest published observations on medical subjects are the following lines on drinking written at the age of 16 and published in the New England Courant under the pseudonym of Silence Dogood, "I doubt not but moderate drinking has been improved for the Diffusion of Knowledge among the ingenious Part of Mankind, who want the Talent of a ready Utterance, in order to discover the Conception of their Minds in an entertaining and intelligible Manner. 'Tis true, drinking does not improve the faculties, but it enables us to use them,
Object Description
Rating | |
Fixed Title * | NCHH-04: The Health Bulletin [1914-1973] |
Document Title | The Health Bulletin [1914-1973] |
Subject Topical | Public health -- North Carolina -- Periodicals. |
Subject Topical Other | Public Health -- North Carolina -- Periodicals. |
Contributor | North Carolina. State Board of Health. |
Publisher | Raleigh, North Carolina State Board of Health. |
Repository | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Health Sciences Library. |
Host | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
Date | 1943 |
Identifier | NCHH-04-058 |
Form General | Periodicals |
Language | English |
Rights | This item is part of the North Carolina History of Health Digital Collection. Some materials in the Collection are protected by U.S. copyright law. This item is presented by the Health Sciences Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for research and educational purposes. It may not be republished or distributed without permission of the Health Sciences Library. |
Digital Collection | North Carolina History of Health Digital Collection |
Sponsor | The North Carolina History of Health Digital Collection is an open access publishing initiative of the Health Sciences Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Financial support for the initiative was provided in part by a multi-year NC ECHO (Exploring Cultural Heritage Online) digitization grant, awarded by the State Library of North Carolina, and funded through the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). |
Volume Number | 58 |
Health Discipline | Public Health |
Digital Format | JPEG 2000 |
Print / Download PDF Version | http://archives.hsl.unc.edu/nchh/nchh-04/nchh-04-058.pdf |
Document Sort | all; group-b; nchh-04 |
Volume Link | http://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/search/collection/nchh/field/identi/searchterm/NCHH-04-058 |
Title Link | http://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/search/collection/nchh/field/documa/searchterm/NCHH-04 |
Catalog Record link | http://search.lib.unc.edu/search?R=UNCb1296443 |
Description
Fixed Title * | Page 7 |
Document Title | The Health Bulletin [1914-1973] |
Subject Topical | Public health -- North Carolina -- Periodicals. |
Subject Topical Other | Public Health -- North Carolina -- Periodicals. |
Contributor | North Carolina. State Board of Health. |
Publisher | Raleigh, North Carolina State Board of Health. |
Repository | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Health Sciences Library. |
Host | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
Date | 1943 |
Identifier | NCHH-04-058-0013 |
Form General | Periodicals |
Page Type | all; article; article title |
Language | English |
Rights | This item is part of the North Carolina History of Health Digital Collection. Some materials in the Collection are protected by U.S. copyright law. This item is presented by the Health Sciences Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for research and educational purposes. It may not be republished or distributed without permission of the Health Sciences Library. |
Filename | healthbulletinse58nort_0013.jp2 |
Digital Collection | North Carolina History of Health Digital Collection |
Sponsor | The North Carolina History of Health Digital Collection is an open access publishing initiative of the Health Sciences Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Financial support for the initiative was provided in part by a multi-year NC ECHO (Exploring Cultural Heritage Online) digitization grant, awarded by the State Library of North Carolina, and funded through the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). |
Volume Number | 58 |
Issue Number | 1 |
Page Number | 7 |
Health Discipline | Public Health |
Full Text | February, 1943 The Health Bulletin 7 Dr. Franklin By Robert D. Wright, M. D. Division of Epidemiology North Carolina State Board of Health Raleigh, North Carolina ONLY occasionally in the history of the human race has there occurred the miracle of a man whose interests were as un-specialized as his powers were prodigal. For these rare men of genius the mechanism of social machinery, the physical explanation of a soap bubble, the mystery of the human body, the creative arts, the riddle of the universe, could each in its turn hold equal fascination. Wherever they turned their eyes new light fell. To some, these lonely giants are the flower of an epoch; for others, they are the seed. Ancient Greece had Aristotle; the Renaissance, Leonardo Da Vinci: our era, Benjamin Franklin. January 17th is the 236th birthday anniversary of this first American scientist whom millions of his countrymen unfortunately remember only as the frugal school boy who rose to riches by temperance and industry, to fame by capturing lightning with a kite, to eminence by some hazy activity in the founding of our nation. To many of us, as a pioneer in medical knowledge he is not known at all. No Doctor of Medicine was Benjamin Franklin, but his knowledge of the subject and contributions to it were far greater than those of many of his contemporaries who laid claim to the title. It is probably not inaccurate to say that we would know Franklin today as the father of American medicine had he not been so eminent in other fields. The medical profession may claim Franklin as one of its own for he was a member of the Royal Medical Society of Paris and an honorary member of the Medical Society of London, in addition to holding membership in several medical societies in the United States. As a champion of fresh air, exercise, and frequent bathing he stands as an American pioneer in the field of hygiene. His advocacy of inoculation and studies in the vital statistics of smallpox attest his discerning interest in preventive medicine. To ophthalmology he made the important contribution of bifocal lenses. His contributions to the diagnosis of lead poisoning are classical. His able unmasking of mesmerism makes psychiatry his debtor. Franklin approached medicine as he did every other aspect of life—with a searching curiosity which was as probing as it was non-specific. This generality of interest is well shown by the endless variety and casual-ness of his observations. His contributions were presented with a disarming naturalness, as if what he explained were too obvious not to be already known. Hardly a field of medical knowledge (or indeed of any knowledge) escaped the useful interest of this man's insatiable curiosity. His medical ideas diluted by a thousand other interests and presented without pomp or attempt at effect lie buried beneath his greatness as a philosopher and statesman. On Drinking Probably Franklin's earliest published observations on medical subjects are the following lines on drinking written at the age of 16 and published in the New England Courant under the pseudonym of Silence Dogood, "I doubt not but moderate drinking has been improved for the Diffusion of Knowledge among the ingenious Part of Mankind, who want the Talent of a ready Utterance, in order to discover the Conception of their Minds in an entertaining and intelligible Manner. 'Tis true, drinking does not improve the faculties, but it enables us to use them, |
Digital Format | JPEG 2000 |
Print / Download PDF Version | http://archives.hsl.unc.edu/nchh/nchh-04/nchh-04-058.pdf |
Document Sort | all; group-b; nchh-04 |
Article Title | Dr. Franklin |
Article Author | Wright, Robert D. |
Volume Link | http://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/search/collection/nchh/field/identi/searchterm/NCHH-04-058 |
Title Link | http://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/search/collection/nchh/field/documa/searchterm/NCHH-04 |
Catalog Record link | http://search.lib.unc.edu/search?R=UNCb1296443 |
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