Lewis Ryers Thompson
Lewis Ryers Thompson was an American physician who served as Assistant Surgeon General of the United States and as Director of the National Institutes of Health.
Early life and education
Thompson was born on 6 August 1883 in Lafayette, Indiana. He completed his MD degree at Louisville Medical College, after which he took a position with the Philippine Constabulary.Public Health Service
Thompson began his career with the United States [Public Health Service] in 1910, with an appointment as an assistant surgeon. Thompson first gained his reputation through a 1916 epidemiological study of polio in New York City. He became Chief of the PHS Office of Industrial Hygiene and Sanitation in 1921.He rose through the ranks of the agency, and by 1930 was the chief of the Division of Scientific Research. In this position, he performed field investigations on a range of public health issues, from childhood nutrition and dental issues to industrial hygiene and stream pollution. He was also appointed Assistant Surgeon General in 1930, a position he would hold until his retirement in 1946.
Apart from his medical and administrative skills, Thompson demonstrated shrewd political talents. He had arranged to slip the future Surgeon General Thomas Parran Jr. onto the 1932 subcommittee of the Science Advisory Committee, against the wishes of the National Academy of Sciences. He also used his many connections to learn of a large tract of land which had been offered as a gift to the government, which no agency had accepted; this land would become the new home of the NIH.