The Progress and Achievements of Hygiene

Introduction of Linda P. Fried, MD, MPH

“…In researching Dr. Welch, I came to find that Dr. Welch was the first recipient of the Kober Medal ( Figure 1 ) ( 1 ), bestowed by Dr. Kober himself in 1927 ( Figure 2 ) ( 2 ).…”

“…Throughout his career, he saw to it that preventive medicine and industrial hygiene were part of the medical school curriculum ( 3 ); in fact, his magnum opus was a textbook entitled Industrial and Personal Hygiene ( 4 ). I show here one of his early publications in Science where he defines the science of hygiene as the application of the teachings of physiology, chemistry, physics, meteorology — yes, meteorology — pathology, statistics, epidemiology, and bacteriology to the maintenance of the health and life of individuals and communities ( 2 ). This was published in 1897.…”