Some of the greatest medical researchers of the 20th century served in World War I, often gaining insights and motivation for their later accomplishments from their wartime experiences. Medicine and medical research are two of the many specialties of our regular contributor James Patton. You can find his fascinating in-depth articles HERE.
Capt. Frederick Banting, Canada:
Surgeon, Canadian Army Medical Corps; wounded in action and decorated for heroism; co-discoverer of insulin; Nobel Prize 1923; killed in plane crash en route to service in WWII.
Grenadier Gerhard Domagk, Germany:
Volunteer with Leibgrenadier Regiment of Frankfurt; wounded on the Eastern Front; transferred to the Medical Corps and worked in numerous cholera hospitals; became M.D. after the war; world's leading researcher in chemotherapy; awarded Nobel Prize in 1940; Nazis forced him to decline award, but he was able to accept it in 1947.
Capt. Alexander Fleming, Great Britain:
Royal Medical Corps, Wound Research Center, Hospital 13, Boulogne, Fr.; inspired by his observations and experiments on the practical effects of antiseptics, he shortly thereafter led effort to develop penicillin; Nobel Prize 1945.
Lt. Herbert Gasser, U.S.A.:
Chemical Warfare Service; did research on traumatic shock; credited with theory unifying nerve physiology and electro-physics; Nobel Prize 1944.
Capt. Paul Dudley White, U.S.A.:
Medical Corps American Expeditionary Force; later assisted Red Cross in fighting a typhus epidemic in Macedonia; pioneer in electrocardiography, heart disease research, and vascular medicine; gained fame when called in as consultant on President Eisenhower's heart attacks; early advocate of exercise and proper diet to prevent heart problems.
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