July 22, 2007 - July 28, 2007

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Epidemiologist who battled tuberculosis dead at 92

Dr. George Wills Comstock died Sunday, July 15, of prostate cancer, according to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. For four years, beginning in 1947, Comstock, an epidemiologist, conducted the first trials of the BCG vaccine for tuberculosis in Georgia and Alabama. The studies found the vaccine largely ineffective, prompting the U.S. government to discontinue vaccinating children with it. In a 1957 trial in 29 villages near Bethel, Alaska, Comstock discovered the drug isoniazid (INH) was effective in preventing TB. Five years later, he founded the Johns Hopkins Training Center for Public Health Research and Prevention in Hagerstown. During the following 30 years, he oversaw community-based research studies on diseases including cancer, heart disease, and an eye disease known as histoplasmosis. Comstock spent 20 working for the U.S. Public Health Service and over 40 years teaching at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore. Comstock was 92.

Sources: Associated Press, NYTimes.com

Posted by Corey Anderson at July 27, 2007 9:47 AM | Comments (0)

 

Umpire who called more than 3,000 baseball games dead at 90

Longtime major league umpire Henry Charles "Shag" Crawford died Wednesday, July 11, at an assisted living facility in a Philadelphia suburb. He was born in Philly in 1916, and served in World War II. Crawford began as a minor league umpire in 1950. He became a National League umpire in 1956, officiating in 3,082 baseball games, including three World Series, three All-Star Games, and two NL Championships. Crawford retired in 1975. During the 1969 World Series, Crawford ejected Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver during an argument in Game 4. Crawford officiated at the first game at Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium, and was a co-founder of the umpire's union. His son Jerry became an umpire in 1976, and another son, Joey, became an NBA official in 1977. Crawford was 90.

Sources: Associated Press, worldumpires.com

Posted by Corey Anderson at July 25, 2007 2:34 PM | Comments (0)

 

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