Victor Vaughan
October 27, 1851 - November 21, 1929
|
Scientific Discipline: Biochemistry Membership Type:
Member
(elected 1915)
|
Victor Vaughan made major contributions to the field of public health and to the reform of American medical education in the late 19th and early 20th century. His work on the origin and spread of typhoid throughout U.S. military camps during the Spanish American War gave the U.S. government a thorough understanding of the disease. As dean of the University of Michigan Medical School from 1891 to 1920 he made vast improvements to the facilities and to the university. He was a leading member of the Council on Medical Education of the American Medical Association in 1904, which remade U.S. medical education on a scientific basis. In 1915 he helped found the National Board of Medical Examiners, which to this day sets the standards for medical students and interns in the United States. He also served as the president of the American Medical Association from 1914 to 1915.
In addition, Vaughan was an active member of the National Academy of Sciences, serving on the inaugural executive committee of the National Research Council from 1916 to 1917. This council advised President Wilson and the Council of National Defense on matters during World War I. Concerned with medical affairs, he assessed and offered insight into the improvement of living conditions and protection for the armed forces.
