Who are these "famous scientists"?
A couple weeks ago, I posted a photo of a gathering at the Polio Hall of Fame in January 1958. Recently, I found another photo from the same event.
In March 1958, Dr. Sabin received a letter (seen below) from Dr. Howard A. Howe with a photograph tucked inside. In the letter, Dr. Howe discusses a manuscript written by Dr. Sabin, but not before commenting on the photograph by saying, “I am afraid that you don’t look any more like yourself in this than you do on the wall and I can understand this problem, being totally unphotogenic, myself.” The wall Dr. Howe speaks of is the Polio Hall of Fame, where their busts are on display.
Letter from Dr. Howe to Dr. Sabin, 1958
The back of the photo says, “Three ‘famous’ scientists in a state of exhilaration following a visit to the Little White House, Warm Springs, Jan. 1958.” The photograph was taken by Dr. Howe, or as he referred to himself on the back of the photo as #4. Unfortunately, Dr. Howe did not write in the letter or on the back of the photograph who the two scientists that were posing with Dr. Sabin. After doing some research, I think the man in the middle is Dr. Thomas Francis, Jr. I am unsure who the man on the left is. Can anyone out there identify these men?
For your information, here is the previous blog post on “The Faces Behind Polio Eradication.”
In 2010, the University of Cincinnati Libraries received a $314,258 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to digitize the correspondence and photographs of Dr. Albert B. Sabin. This digitization project has been designated a NEH “We the People” project, an initiative to encourage and strengthen the teaching, study, and understanding of American history and culture through the support of projects that explore significant events and themes in our nation’s history and culture and that advance knowledge of the principles that define America. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this blog do not necessarily reflect those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.