Leonard Pearson

Background

Leonard pearson was born on August 17, 1868 in Evansville, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. He was the brother of Edward Jones Pearson and the son of Leonard and Lucy Small (Jones) Pearson, natives of New England.

Education

Leonard Pearson's preliminary education was obtained mostly from his mother. From early boyhood he was interested in animals and when he went to Cornell University at sixteen, he elected all the courses offered in veterinary science. Graduating (B. S. ) in 1888, Pearson worked for the federal bureau of animal industry during the summer and in the fall entered the Veterinary School at the University of Pennsylvania. He received his degree of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (1890). In recognition of his researches, the University of Pennsylvania conferred on him an honorary doctorate of medicine (1908).

Career

In 1890 Leonard Pearson accepted a position on the teaching staff, with permission to spend the first year in graduate study abroad. In the course of his studies in Germany, he discovered the thermal reaction produced by mallein in horses infected with glanders, and he became deeply interested in tuberculin (just then discovered by Koch) when, in January 1891, Professor Gutmann, of the Veterinary Institute at Dorpat, Russia, demonstrated that it could be used to discover the presence of tuberculosis in cattle before any physical signs were apparent.

In the fall of 1891, Leonard Pearson returned to Philadelphia and began his work in the University of Pennsylvania as assistant professor of veterinary medicine, being promoted to a full professorship three years later. He also engaged in practice, and within a few months, in March 1892, made the first tuberculin test of cattle in the western hemisphere. In the years immediately following, through his addresses and writings, he was one of the chief factors in bringing about the general acceptance of this test. When the State Livestock Sanitary Board was established in 1895, he was appointed state veterinarian, becoming a member of the board ex officio. He took office January 1, 1896. His organization of the work of the board, the laws he devised and induced the legislature to pass, and his system of suppressing bovine tuberculosis operated so satisfactorily that they were regarded as models and were copied by other states. Almost at the beginning of the work, he prevailed upon the board to establish a laboratory for research, the University of Pennsylvania providing the space at the Veterinary School.

Here, in collaboration with M. P. Ravenel and S. H. Gilliland, Leonard Pearson did work that attracted world-wide attention on the relation of bovine to human tuberculosis and on the vaccination of cattle against tuberculosis. While developing and directing the work of the State Livestock Sanitary Board, Leonard Pearson continued his connection with the Veterinary School. His conception of the relation of veterinary medicine to the public health on the one hand and to the economics of agriculture on the other and his revelation of the great opportunities for research inspired his students. In 1897, he was appointed dean of the faculty. Through his efforts the endowment funds of the school were considerably increased, the support of the livestock industry was enlisted, and in the course of eight years a total of $450, 000 was appropriated to the University of Pennsylvania to erect and equip buildings for the Veterinary School. Additional funds were secured which made it possible to reorganize and enlarge the teaching staff, providing facilities for instruction and research which were unequaled in the United States.

In 1903, Leonard Pearson became a member of the Philadelphia board of health and, in 1905, of the advisory board of the state department of health. He was a member of numerous professional, scientific, and agricultural societies, and was honored with the presidency of all the professional organizations in which he held membership. Under the intense strain, Leonard Pearson's health began to fail. In the summer of 1908, his friends advised him to take a rest, but he continued at work until the following June, when he went away, too late, to rest and recuperate. Leonard Pearson died at Spruce Brook, Newfoundland, in September 1909, aged forty-one.

Achievements

• Leonard Pearson was best known for his service as a professor and then dean of Veterinary College of the University of Pennsylvania. He organized and was state veterinarian of the State Livestock Sanitary Board.

Works

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• book

  • Essentials of Milk Hygiene; A Practical Treatise on Dairy and Milk Inspection and on the Hygienic Production and Handling of Milk, for Students of Dairying and Sanitarians

    ( This work has been selected by scholars as being cultur...)

  • Diseases and Enemies of Poultry

    ( This work has been selected by scholars as being cultur...)

  • Special Report on Diseases of the Horse

    ( This work has been selected by scholars as being cultur...)

  • The Effect of Tuberculosis Vaccination Upon Cattle Infected with Tuberculosis

    ( This work has been selected by scholars as being cultur...)

Personality

Leonard Pearson was of a robust, vigorous constitution and there seemed to be no limit to his capacity for work.

Connections

Leonard Pearson was unmarried.

Father:

Leonard Pearson

Mother:

Lucy Small (Jones) Pearson

Brother:

Edward Jones Pearson

References

• In Memoriam Leonard Pearson: Born August 17, 1868; Died September 20, 1909; State Veterinarian of Pennsylvania, 1895-1909 (Classic Reprint)