Philip Drinker
Encyclopedia
Philip Drinker was an industrial hygienist. With Louis Agassiz Shaw
, he invented the first widely used iron lung
in 1928.
president Henry Sturgis Drinker; his siblings included lawyer
and musicologist Henry Sandwith Drinker, Jr., pathologist Cecil Kent Drinker, businessman James Drinker, and biographer Catherine Drinker Bowen
. After graduating from Princeton
in 1915, Philip Drinker trained as a chemical engineer
at Lehigh
for two years.
Drinker was hired to teach industrial illumination and ventilation at Harvard Medical School
and soon joined his brother Cecil and colleagues Alice Hamilton
and David L. Edsall on the faculty of the nascent Harvard School of Public Health
in 1921 or 1923. He studied, taught, and wrote textbooks and scholarly works on a variety of topics in industrial hygiene; the iron lung itself was originally designed in response to an industrial hygiene problem—coal gas poisoning—though it would become best known as a life-preserving treatment for polio
. Charles Momsen
credited Drinker "and his friends" for their assistance with gas-mixture experiments that ultimately made possible the rescue of the survivors of the USS Squalus
in 1939. During World War II
, Drinker directed the industrial hygiene program for the United States Maritime Commission
. After the war, he advised the Atomic Energy Commission
.
Drinker served as editor-in-chief of The Journal of Industrial Hygiene for over thirty years and, in 1942, as president of the American Industrial Hygiene Association
, to which he had belonged since its inception.
He retired from Harvard in 1960 or 1961.
He was inducted into the US National Inventor's Hall of Fame in 2007.
He and his wife Susan had a son, bioengineer Philip A. Drinker.
Louis Agassiz Shaw
Louis Agassiz Shaw Junior was an instructor of physiology at the School of Public Health of Harvard University, where he is credited in 1928 along with Philip Drinker for inventing the Drinker respirator, the first widely used iron lung.-Family and early life:Shaw's parents were Louis Agassiz Shaw...
, he invented the first widely used iron lung
Iron lung
A negative pressure ventilator is a form of medical ventilator that enables a person to breathe when normal muscle control has been lost or the work of breathing exceeds the person's ability....
in 1928.
Family and early life
Drinker's father was railroad man and Lehigh UniversityLehigh University
Lehigh University is a private, co-educational university located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the United States. It was established in 1865 by Asa Packer as a four-year technical school, but has grown to include studies in a wide variety of disciplines...
president Henry Sturgis Drinker; his siblings included lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and musicologist Henry Sandwith Drinker, Jr., pathologist Cecil Kent Drinker, businessman James Drinker, and biographer Catherine Drinker Bowen
Catherine Drinker Bowen
Catherine Drinker Bowen was born as Catherine Drinker on the Haverford College campus on January 1, 1897, to a prominent Quaker family. She was an accomplished violinist who studied for a musical career at the Peabody Institute and the Juilliard School of Music, but ultimately decided to become a...
. After graduating from Princeton
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
in 1915, Philip Drinker trained as a chemical engineer
Chemical engineer
In the field of engineering, a chemical engineer is the profession in which one works principally in the chemical industry to convert basic raw materials into a variety of products, and deals with the design and operation of plants and equipment to perform such work...
at Lehigh
Lehigh University
Lehigh University is a private, co-educational university located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the United States. It was established in 1865 by Asa Packer as a four-year technical school, but has grown to include studies in a wide variety of disciplines...
for two years.
Drinker was hired to teach industrial illumination and ventilation at Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
and soon joined his brother Cecil and colleagues Alice Hamilton
Alice Hamilton
Alice Hamilton was the first woman appointed to the faculty of Harvard University and was a leading expert in the field of occupational health...
and David L. Edsall on the faculty of the nascent Harvard School of Public Health
Harvard School of Public Health
The Harvard School of Public Health is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University, located in the Longwood Area of the Boston, Massachusetts neighborhood of Mission Hill, which is next to Harvard Medical School. HSPH is considered a significant school focusing on health in the...
in 1921 or 1923. He studied, taught, and wrote textbooks and scholarly works on a variety of topics in industrial hygiene; the iron lung itself was originally designed in response to an industrial hygiene problem—coal gas poisoning—though it would become best known as a life-preserving treatment for polio
Poliomyelitis
Poliomyelitis, often called polio or infantile paralysis, is an acute viral infectious disease spread from person to person, primarily via the fecal-oral route...
. Charles Momsen
Charles Momsen
Charles Bowers Momsen , nicknamed "Swede", was born in Flushing, New York. He was an American pioneer in submarine rescue for the United States Navy, and he invented the underwater escape device later called the "Momsen lung", for which he received the Distinguished Service Medal in 1929...
credited Drinker "and his friends" for their assistance with gas-mixture experiments that ultimately made possible the rescue of the survivors of the USS Squalus
USS Sailfish (SS-192)
USS Sailfish , a , was originally named Squalus.Her keel was laid on 18 October 1937 by the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, as Squalus, the only ship of the United States Navy named for the squalus. She was launched on 14 September 1938 sponsored by Mrs. Thomas C...
in 1939. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Drinker directed the industrial hygiene program for the United States Maritime Commission
United States Maritime Commission
The United States Maritime Commission was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and replaced the U.S. Shipping Board which had existed since World War I...
. After the war, he advised the Atomic Energy Commission
United States Atomic Energy Commission
The United States Atomic Energy Commission was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by Congress to foster and control the peace time development of atomic science and technology. President Harry S...
.
Drinker served as editor-in-chief of The Journal of Industrial Hygiene for over thirty years and, in 1942, as president of the American Industrial Hygiene Association
American Industrial Hygiene Association
The American Industrial Hygiene Association is a membership organization of occupational and environmental health professionals practicing industrial hygiene in industry, government, labor, academic institutions, and independent organizations....
, to which he had belonged since its inception.
He retired from Harvard in 1960 or 1961.
He was inducted into the US National Inventor's Hall of Fame in 2007.
He and his wife Susan had a son, bioengineer Philip A. Drinker.