Anna Wessels Williams
An American #pathologist, a pioneer in #infectiousdiseases and a public health advocate. She developed an effective treatment for #diphtheria and a rapid diagnostic for #rabies.
Featuring artwork by Miler Ximeno Lopez & words by Dr. Sumbul Jawed Khan, Sci-Illustrate Stories. Set in motion by Dr. Radhika Patnala.
Today when we have a cure for most infectious disease we might take for granted the contribution of many eminent scientists and doctors who developed vaccines and therapies to make their treatment possible. A lot of credit for the eradication of these diseases goes to the relentless hard work of scientists like Anna Wessels Williams, M.D. (1863–1954).
In the early phase of her life, Anna would have hardly known of the achievements that lay ahead for her. She was born in 1863 in Hackensack, New Jersey, to Jane Van Saun and William Williams, and was home-schooled until age 12 like her other siblings. After graduating in 1883 from the local high school she started working as a schoolteacher. A turning point in Anna’s life came in 1887 when her sister Millie became seriously ill while giving birth to a stillborn child. Realizing that the tragedy could have been averted if the attending doctor was better trained, Anna resolved to become a doctor herself! In the same year she enrolled at the Women’s Medical College of the New York Infirmary and…
