Physicians
26 people, across 4 fields.
Jonas Salk 1914–1995Medicine & Public HealthMedical researcher who developed the first safe and effective polio vaccine.
Anthony Fauci b. 1940Medicine & Public HealthPhysician-scientist who shaped federal responses to HIV/AIDS, emerging infections, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Benjamin Spock 1903–1998EducationPediatrician whose 1946 baby-care manual reshaped postwar American child-rearing advice.
Elizabeth Blackwell 1821–1910Medicine & Public HealthFirst woman to receive a medical degree in the United States and a pioneer of women’s medical education.Charles Drew 1904–1950Medicine & Public HealthPhysician-scientist whose work on blood plasma and blood banking saved countless lives.
Albert Sabin 1906–1993Medicine & Public HealthMedical researcher who developed the oral polio vaccine used in worldwide eradication campaigns.
Walter Reed 1851–1902Medicine & Public HealthArmy physician whose commission confirmed mosquito transmission of yellow fever and transformed disease control.
C. Everett Koop 1916–2013Medicine & Public HealthSurgeon general whose public communication on AIDS, smoking, and child health reshaped national health policy.Elisabeth Kübler-Ross 1926–2004Medicine & Public HealthIntroduced the stages-of-grief model and advanced hospice and end-of-life care in America.
Virginia Apgar 1909–1974Medicine & Public HealthPhysician who created the Apgar score, transforming rapid assessment and survival of newborns.
Mae Jemison b. 1956Exploration, Aviation & SpaceFirst African American woman in space, physician, and advocate for science education and global health.
William Osler 1849–1919Medicine & Public HealthBuilt bedside clinical teaching into American medical education as a founding Johns Hopkins professor.
Paul Farmer 1959–2022Medicine & Public HealthPhysician and anthropologist who built influential models for delivering high-quality care in impoverished communities.
Atul Gawande b. 1965Medicine & Public HealthSurgeon and writer who popularized surgical checklists and led global health work at USAID.
Alice Hamilton 1869–1970Medicine & Public HealthFounded American industrial toxicology and documented workplace lead and chemical poisoning.
Harvey Cushing 1869–1939Medicine & Public HealthSurgeon who established modern neurosurgery as a specialized medical discipline.
William Stewart Halsted 1852–1922Medicine & Public HealthEstablished aseptic surgical technique and the American surgical residency training system.
Rebecca Lee Crumpler 1831–1895Medicine & Public HealthFirst Black woman to earn a medical degree in the United States and an early advocate for care in underserved communities.Helen B. Taussig 1898–1986Medicine & Public HealthFounder of pediatric cardiology whose work helped create the first successful treatment for blue-baby syndrome.
David Ho b. 1952Medicine & Public HealthPhysician-scientist whose research helped establish combination antiretroviral therapy as the standard treatment for HIV/AIDS.
Drew Weissman b. 1959Medicine & Public HealthImmunologist whose collaboration with Katalin Karikó made mRNA vaccines practical and safe.
Stanley Prusiner b. 1942Medicine & Public HealthNeurologist who discovered prions, establishing a new biological mechanism for infectious neurodegenerative disease.
Joseph Goldberger 1874–1929Medicine & Public HealthShowed that pellagra was a dietary deficiency rather than an infectious disease.
Baruch Blumberg 1925–2011Medicine & Public HealthPhysician-scientist whose discovery of the hepatitis B virus led to diagnostic tests and a widely used vaccine.
Story Musgrave b. 1935Exploration, Aviation & SpaceNASA astronaut who flew on six Space Shuttle missions and performed the first Shuttle spacewalk.
Priscilla Chan b. 1985Business, Finance & IndustryPediatrician and co-CEO of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative investing billions in science and education.