1920's Medicine and Health | Flexner, Simon 1863-1946

PATHOLOGIST

Accomplishments.

The accomplishments of Simon Flexner, pathologist and director of the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, were extraordinary in their diversity and impact. Flexner was the fourth of nine children born to Morris and Esther Flexner in Louisville, Kentucky. Abraham Flexner, the education specialist, was his brother. As a young man Simon Flexner was apprenticed to a druggist who sent him to the Louisville College of Pharmacy. After graduating in 1882, Flexner's interest in medicine led him to study at the University of Louisville where he earned an M.D. in 1889. This early education and Flexner's investigative nature set the stage for his remarkable career.

Early Work.

After medical school Flexner turned his talents to research in the fields of pathology and bacteriology. He began his work at the Johns Hopkins Hospital where he became an associate in pathology in 1892....