  The brawn, brain, and inventive genius of the immigrants and their descendants have made the United States a world leader in science and industry. In reading about this pageant of achievement, which is unique in human history, you will also learn something about the diverse racial origins of those who laid the gifts on the “altar of America.” Here they are—IMMIGRANTS! SONS OF IMMIGRANTS! AND SONS OF SONS OF IMMIGRANTS!—men and women who have thrilled the worlds of science and industry, the arts and crafts, and social progress and government. The italics indicate the racial origin of each individual or a major racial group from which he is descended, although it should be kept in mind that a person’s ancestors frequently include many racial strains. The achievements listed are suggestive rather than exhaustive. MedicineUse of cocaine as local anaesthetic first introduced by Carl Koller, German Jew ... ether first demonstrated to the world in surgical operation by William Morton, Scot ... first successful operation on human heart performed by Daniel H. Williams, Negro. Schick Diphtheria Test devised by Dr. Bela Schick, Hungarian Jew ... pioneer work in antiseptics by Henry Banga, Swiss, and many lives saved during World War through contributions to aseptic surgery of Alexis Carrel, French ... preventive compound for cholera and typhoid fever discovered by F. G. Novy, Slovak ... apparatus for electric blood transfusion perfected by D. J. Calicchio, Italian. Charles and William Mayo, Irish, have made surgery almost as reliable a science as bookkeeping ... Charles McBurney, Scotch-Irish, discovered McBurney’s Point as a sign for the necessity of operating for appendicitis. Discovery that the disease pellagra was due to faulty diet made by Joseph Goldberger, German Jew ... typhus and typhoid fever distinguished by Alfred StillÉ, Swede ... human blood classified in different types by Karl Landsteiner, Austrian Jew ... research work in combatting syphilis and yellow fever by Hideyo Noguchi, Japanese. Expert on infantile paralysis and meningitis is Simon Flexner, German Jew ... first removal of human ovary by Ephraim MacDowell, Scot ... one of the famous authorities on plastic surgery is V. Kazanjian, Armenian ... world authority on venereal disease is Vecki Victor, Yugoslav ... Edward Trudeau, French, began sanatorium treatment for tuberculosis ... Clifford Beers, English-Netherlander, founder of mental hygiene movement. Discovery that mosquitoes carried yellow fever made by Walter Reed, English ... malaria driven out of Panama by General William C. Gorgas, Scotch-Irish-Netherlander ... first hospital in colonies founded by Dr. Thomas Bond, Welsh. PhysicsOur great electrical wizards have been: Joseph Henry, Scotch-Irish, who helped to invent the telegraph ... Charles Steinmetz, German-Polish, mathematical genius and electrical scientist, who had one of the world’s most inventive minds ... Thomas Edison, Scot-Netherlander, who invented electric light bulb and phonograph ... Michael Pupin, Yugoslav, who perfected tuning-in mechanism of radio.... Nicola Tesla, Yugoslav, who made extensive use of electrical power possible ... Vladimir Karapetoff, Armenian, inventor of electrical devices. Most distinguished physicist on light rays is Albert A. Michelson, German Jew ... on x-rays, Arthur H. Compton, English ... on cosmic rays, Robert Millikan, Scotch-Irish ... outstanding investigator of RÖentgen ray is Mihran Kassabian, Armenian ... through work on electrotechnics, expansion of telephonic and telegraphic communication made possible by E. F. W. Alexanderson, Swede ... John Kruesi, Swiss, helped Edison develop electric incandescent lamp, dynamo, and phonograph. AstronomyFirst observatory put up by Ephraim Williams, Welsh ... many of our early-day almanacs based on astronomical studies and computations of David Rittenhouse, German-Welsh ... Lick Observatory, California, and Yerkes Observatory, Wisconsin, founded by James Lick and Charles Yerkes, Germans ... for pictures of many of the stars, Dorothy Klumpke, German, achieved much fame ... famous mathematician and everyday almanac maker was Benjamin Banneker, Negro, who also helped L’Enfant, French, to lay out Washington, D. C. ChemistryEphedrin, drug used as base for cold remedies, discovered by K. K. Chen, Chinese ... adrenalin and diastase, discovered by Jokichi Takamine, Japanese ... grape sugar changed into tartaric acid by Mooshegh Vaygoony, Armenian ... George Washington Carver, Negro, made 145 products from peanut, 100 products from sweet potato, and 60 products from the pecan ... fermented milk product of high curative values discovered by H. M. Dadoorian, Armenian. ExplorationA pilot on one of Columbus’ ships was Pedro Alonzo, Negro ... first explorers in New Mexico led by EstÉvanico, Moroccan ... first settlers of Alabama, who accompanied De Soto in 1540, were Robles, Negro, and Feryada, Greek ... first reliable map of Virginia and Maryland made by Augustine Herrman, Czech. Lewis, Welsh, and Clark, English, led the famous expedition to the Northwest ... 1903 Ziegler Expedition to the North Pole led by Anthony Fiala, Czech ... North Pole discovered by Robert Peary, French-English, accompanied by Matthew Henson, Negro ... first to fly across South Pole was Richard Byrd, English. Other SciencesFirst of American geologists was William McClure, Scot ... the great naturalist, John J. Audubon, French-Spanish, taught us about birds of America ... many inspired to study natural sciences by Louis Agassiz, French ... Henry D. Thoreau, Huguenot, was great naturalist and writer ... famous anthropologists are Franz Boas and Edward Sapir, German Jews, and Ales Hrdlicka, Czech. International authority on zoology and botany is Leonhard Steiniger, Norwegian ... expert on function of cell and fertilization is Ernest Just, Negro ... first botanical garden in world founded near Philadelphia by John Bartram, Welsh, early in 18th century ... public garden, established in Georgia by General Oglethorpe, English, served as our first agricultural experiment station ... scientific breeding of plants demonstrated by Luther Burbank, English-French-Netherlander-Scot. PhilosophersFamous philosophers: Wm. James, Welsh-English ... John Dewey, Irish ... Santayana, Spaniard ... Jiddu Krishnamurti, Hindu. AgricultureFirst vineyard in our country was set out by Jean Jacques Dufour, Swiss ... oranges, olives, dates, and grapes were brought to California by Fray Junipero Serra, Spaniard ... fig cuttings were imported by Denotovitch of Fresno, Yugoslav ... wild strawberry developed into large table variety by Johann Schwerdkopf, German, who came to Long Island before Revolutionary War. Alfalfa seed, known as Lucerne, brought to Minnesota and developed by Wendelin Grimm, German, in 1858 ... hardy alfalfa for prairies of northwest, brought from Siberia and Turkestan by Niels Hansen, Dane ... mower and reaper invented by Cyrus McCormick, Scotch-Irish. Simple tests to determine whether soil needs nitrogen, phosphates, or potash devised by George Hoffer, German ... pasteurization introduced by Julius Moldenhawar, Dane ... orange that will stay on tree for months after ripening propagated by Lue Gim Gong, Chinese ... honey industry revolutionized by Frank Jaeger, Yugoslav. Early cooperative creamery at Clark’s Grove, Minn., organized under leadership of Hans Jensen, Dane ... first to find trichina spiralis in hogs and hookworm in cats was Joseph Leidy, German ... International Institute of Agriculture established by David Lubin, Polish-Jew. |
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