Joseph J. Kinyoun
Joseph James Kinyoun (November 25, 1860 – February 14, 1919) was an American physician and the founder of the United States' Hygienic Laboratory, the predecessor of the National Institutes of Health.
Joseph J. Kinyoun | |
|---|---|
| 1st Director of the U.S. Hygienic Laboratory | |
| In office August 1887 – April 30, 1899 | |
| President |
|
| Succeeded by | Milton J. Rosenau |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 25, 1860 East Bend, North Carolina |
| Died | February 14, 1919 (aged 58) Washington, D.C. |
| Resting place | Centerview Cemetery 38°45′01.8″N 93°50′38.7″W |
| Nationality | American |
| Children | 5 |
| Alma mater | Bellevue Medical College |
| Known for |
|
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Bacteriology, Public health |
| Institutions | Marine Hospital Service George Washington University |
| Uniformed service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service/ | Marine Hospital Service United States Army |
| Years of service | 1886–1902 1917–1919 |
| Rank | Surgeon (MHS) Major (USA) |
His career was nearly ended by his insistence, while serving as head of the Marine Hospital Service in San Francisco, on taking vigorous measures to contain the spread of the bubonic plague. He resigned his position in 1901 after being attacked for his diagnoses, including claims by California Governor Henry Gage that he and other federal employees had falsified evidence by injecting cadavers with bacilli. He was ultimately proven correct by independent testing and the appearance of further cases.
Kinyoun's later career was spent in private companies and as a professor of bacteriology and pathology at George Washington University before becoming a bacteriologist for the District of Columbia Health Department, a position he held until his death. In 1909, Kinyoun served as president of the American Society for Microbiology. In 1915, he developed the Kinyoun stain, a procedure used to stain acid-fast bacteria.