Major General William C. Gorgas, M.C., U.S.A. : in memoriam.

  • Sigard Adolphus Knopf
Date:
1920
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Major General William C. Gorgas, M.C., U.S.A. : in memoriam. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    5/14 page 729
    jWajor (General ©BJilltam C. (gorgas, JE €., H. &>. gl. 3n jWemortam* By S. ADOLPHUS KNOPF, M.D. New York At its last meeting, in 1920, in St. Louis, the Association honored . . itself by the unanimous election of General Gorgas to the Honorary Vice-Presidency. The General belonged to us officially, as a director since 1917, but as an Honorary Vice-President he was ours only a few months, for he passed away from his earthly labors on behalf of suffering mankind on July 4, 1920, the day set aside to commemorate the declara¬ tion of our political independence. Many were the obituaries which appeared at the time of the great General's death, in all of which high tributes were paid to his achievements. One of the most touching which it was the author's privilege to read was by the General's successor, Merritt W. Ireland, Surgeon General of the United States Army. William Crawford Gorgas, the son of General Josiah and Amelia (Gayle) Gorgas, was born in Mobile, Alabama, October 3, 1854. Gen¬ eral Ireland speaks of the parents and their son William in the following graceful terms: General Josiah Gorgas was Chief of Ordnance of the Confederate Army during the Civil War and later president of the University of the South at Sewanee, Tenn. His mother was Amelia Gayle, a famous beauty, daughter of the war governor of Alabama. In lineage and personality, the late Sur¬ geon General was a typical Southerner. He had what might be called the Alabama temperament, a pleasant, suave, affable manner and an attractive disposition, which, wherever he went, made him many friends. William C. Gorgas received his preliminary and classical education at the University of the South from which he graduated in 1875. He then entered Bellevue Hospital Medical College, receiving his degree as M.D. in 1879, and subsequently served as interne there for two years. He entered the army in 1880 and received a commission as first lieu¬ tenant. As his first post he was sent to Fort Brown, Texas, and it was * From the advance sheets of The History of the National Tuberculosis Association, by S; Adolphus Knopf.
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