Dr.+Jonas+Salk


 * Dr. Jonas Salk** ** dorrite343 **
 * __ Early Life __**
 * Born on October 28, 1914 in New York, New York
 * Oldest of the three sons of Daniel and Dora Salk
 * The Salk’s moved to Bronx, New York shortly after Jonas’s birth
 * He was a thin and small child and was not very good at sports, but an excellent student


 * __ Education __**
 * When he was only 12 years old, Jonas entered Townsend Harris High School for Gifted Students
 * He graduated Townsend Harris High School for Gifted Students at the age of 15
 * At the age of 16, Jonas went to the City of New York in 1934 to study law
 * He changed his mind and decided to pursue medicine
 * He went to medical school at New York University’s College of Medicine in 1939
 * 1939 Salk graduated medical school; one day later got married to Donna Lindsay


 * __ Inventions __**
 * Jonas Salk invented the polio vaccine
 * Tested on living monkeys without polio
 * 440,000 children from 40 states received the polio vaccine
 * 210,000 children got the dummy vaccine
 * An iron lung breathed for polio victims artificially


 * __ Professional Life __**
 * In 1947, Jonas Salk began to work on Polio vaccine at the Virus Research Laboratory at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine at the age of 25
 * On June 12, 1952, Jonas Salk went to the Watson Home and drew blood samples from 45 children
 * On April 12, 1955 his polio vaccine got released for use in the United States
 * In 1963, Jonas Salk went to San Diego as Head of the Institute (later named the Salk Institute) for biological studies


 * __ Late Life __**
 * Died on June 23, 1995 in La Jolla, California at the age of 81
 * Jonas Salk worked on an AIDS vaccine at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California until he died of heart failure


 * __ Awards __**
 * In 1957, Jonas Salk was named Professor of Experimental Medicine at Pittsburgh
 * In 1997, Jonas Salk was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom


 * __ Polio __**
 * Polio, also known as poliomyelitis or infinite paralysis is an infectious viral disease which usually causes mild illness
 * When the virus attacks the central nervous system; it may lead to extensive paralysis or may be fatal
 * In areas with poor sanitation, children acquire lifelong immunity by becoming infected at a young age
 * Victims of polio can be young or old; mostly young
 * Polio can effect different parts of the nervous system
 * One form of polio causes paralysis of the muscles that enable people to breathe; most people died quickly until the iron lung was invented
 * The iron lung breathed artificially for the polio victim
 * Thousands of polio victims lived in warehouse-like rooms in hospitals unable to do little more than lie in iron lungs for twenty-four hours a day
 * 1890’s was the first outbreak of polio in the United States in Vermont
 * Thousands of polio victims lived in warehouse-like rooms in hospitals unable to do little more than lie in iron lungs for twenty-four hours a day
 * __ Fun Facts __**
 * 1944 Jonas Salk baby boy, Peter, was born
 * Remarkably it is estimated that 125 people were still living in iron lung in 2002
 * President Franklin Roosevelt got polio after swimming in a chilly lake
 * Wilma Rudolph, Olympic gold medalist was stricken with polio as a young child
 * Polio can strike a person of any age, but children 5 and under comprise 50% of its victims
 * The cost of the polio vaccination is only .11 cents in the United States.





__ Citations __

A History of Jewish American Achievement: The Flowering of Jewish Americans Ambrose Video Publishing, 2010. Full Video. Discovery Education. Web. 19 September 2013. <[]>.

Barter, James. Jonas Salk. San Diego: Lucent Books, 2002. Print.

"Jonas Salk." Britannica School. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2013. Web. 19 Sep. 2013. <[]>.

Notable Biographies. "Jonas Salk Biography." Encyclopedia of World Biography.

Old Bridge Admin. "Jonas Salk Biography." Jonas Salk Middle School. School World.

Parks, Peggy L. Jonas Salk- Polio Vaccine Pioneer. San Diego: Blackbirch Press, 2004. Print.

Polio Project. "Poliomyelitis/ Polio." Fun Facts About Poliomyelitis. Weebly.