History of Public Health at Harvard

Timeline of Departmental Names and Chairs

The following research was conducted by Hanna Clutterbuck-Cook and Heather Mumford between 2020 and 2022, using historic course catalogs and other reference material available at the Center for the History of Medicine. Please email us with corrections, clarifications, or questions. 

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1913 - 1922 –  Formal departments did not exist in the early school. Rather, courses were grouped together in the catalog, and these specific “groups” were given titles such as those listed below. Students took public health courses at HMS, HU in Cambridge, and MIT. The early groups connected to environmental health (note -- no chairs were appointed until 1922, when these groups evolved into departments) were: 

• Industrial Hygiene 
  • Wade Wright (1922-1923) 
• Industrial Toxicology
  • Alice Hamilton (1922-1923) 
  • Davd Edsall (1923-1928) 
• Sanitary Engineering 
  • George Whipple (1922-1924) 
  • Gordon Fair (1925-1931) 
• Ventilation and Illumination  
  • Philip Drinker (1922-1931) 

To see an isolated list of the first "departments" of the school, see The Early School (1913-1921).

 

1923 - Industrial Medicine founded (note: Industrial Hygiene and Industrial Medicine are often used interchangeably) 

• David Edsall (1923-1928) 
• Alice Hamilton (1929-1930) 
• W. Irving Clark (1931-1932)  

 

1923 - Applied Physiology founded

• Cecil Drinker (1923-1948)

 

1924 - Applied Physiology becomes Physiology

• Cecil Drinker (1922-1948) 
• James Whittenberger (1948-1980) 
• John Little (1980-1981) 

 

1925 - Industrial Toxicology merges with Industrial Medicine

 

1932 - Ventilation and Illumination, Industrial Medicine, and Sanitary Engineering merge to become Public Health Engineering 

• Philip Drinker (1932-1943) 

 

1944 - Public Health Engineering dissolves; Sanitary Engineering and Industrial Hygiene return to being separate departments 

• Industrial Hygiene  
  • Philip Drinker (1944-1960) 
  • Leslie Silverman (1961-1966) 
  • James Whittenberger (1966-1969) 
  • Dade Moeller (1969-1982; note - IH becomes EHS during this tenure) 
• Sanitary Engineering 
  • Gordon Fair (1944-1961) 
  • J. Carrell Morris (1961-1963  
  • Harold Thomas (1964-1982) 

 

1970 - Industrial Hygiene becomes Environmental Health Sciences  

• Dade Moeller (1969-1982; note - IH becomes EHS during this tenure) 
• Joseph Harrington (1982-1986; note – EHS becomes ESP during this tenure) 

 

1983 - Environmental Health Sciences, Sanitary Engineering, and Physiology merge and become Environmental Sciences and Physiology   

• Joseph Harrington (1982-1986; note – EHS becomes ESP during this tenure)   
• Elkan Blout (1986-1988) 
• Donald Hornig (1988-1990) 
• Joseph Brain (1990-2005; note ESP becomes EH during this tenure) 

 

1991 - Department renamed Environmental Health  

• Joseph Brain (1990-2005; note ESP becomes EH during this tenure) 
• Douglas Dockery (2005-2016) 
• Russ Hauser (2016-2021) 
• Douglas Dockery (2021-2023)
• Kari Nadeau, (2023-present)

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Timeline: 

• Founded as Industrial Hygiene 1922 

• Becomes Industrial Medicine 1925 

• Merges with Ventilation and Illumination, Sanitary Engineering; renamed Public Health Engineering 1931 

• Public Health Engineering dissolves; Industrial Hygiene reinstated as department in 1944 

• Renamed Environmental Health Sciences 1970 

• Merges with Sanitary Engineering, Physiology; renamed Environmental Sciences and Physiology 1983 

• Renamed Environmental Health 1991 

Chairs: 

1. Wade Wright (1922-1923) 

2. David Edsall (1923-1928) 

3. Alice Hamilton (1929-1930) 

4. W Irving Clark (1931-1932) 

5. Philip Drinker (1944-1960) 

6. Leslie Silverman (1961-1966) 

7. James Whittenberger (1966-1969) 

8. Dade Moeller (1969-1982) 

9. Joseph Harrington (1982-1986) 

10. Elkan Blout (1986-1988) 

11. Donald Hornig (1988-1990) 

12. Joseph Brain (1990-2005) 

13. Douglas Dockery (2005-2016) 

14. Russ Hauser (2016-2021) 

15. Douglas Dockery (2021-    ) 

[Applied] Physiology 

Timeline 

• Founded 1922 

• Listed in Industrial Hygiene 1923 [group listing only used for one year] 

• Listed as Physiology 1924 

• Merges with Environmental Health Sciences to become Environmental Sciences and Physiology 1983 

• Becomes Environmental Health [EH] 1990 

Chairs 

1. Cecil K Drinker (1922-1946) 

2. James L Whittenberger (1946-1980) 

3. John B Little (1980-1982) 

4. Joseph Harrington (1983-1986) 

5. Elkan Blout (1986-1988) 

6. Donald Hornig (1988-1990) 

7. Joseph Brain (1990-2005) [EH] 

8. Douglas Dockery (2005-2016) [EH] 

9. Russ Hauser (2016-2021) [EH] 

10. Douglas Dockery (2021-    ) [EH] 

Timeline: 

• Founded 1922  

• Merges with Public Health Engineering 1931 

• Sanitary Engineering reinstated as full department 1944 

• Merges with Physiology and Environmental Health Sciences 1983 

• Becomes Environmental Health [EH] 1990 

Chairs: 

1. George Whipple (1922-1924) 

2. Gordon Fair (1925-1931) 

3. Philip Drinker (1931-1944) 

4. Gordon Fair (1944-1961) 

5. J Carrell Morris (1961-1963) 

6. Harold Thomas (1964-1982) 

7. Joseph Harrington (1983-1986) 

8. Elkan Blout (1986-1988) 

9. Donald Hornig (1988-1990) 

10. Joseph Brain (1990-2005) [EH] 

11. Douglas Dockery (2005-2016) [EH] 

12. Russ Hauser (2016-2021) [EH] 

13. Douglas Dockery (2021-    ) [EH] 

Timeline 

• Founded 1922 

• Listed in Industrial Hygiene 1923 [group listing only used for one year] 

• Merges with Industrial Medicine 1925 

• Merges with Ventilation and Illumination and Sanitary Engineering to become Public Health Engineering [PHE] 1931 

• Reinstated as full department Industrial Hygiene 1944 

• Included in Division of Environmental Hygiene 1959 

• Becomes Division of Environmental Health Sciences and Engineering 1962 

• Division of Environmental Health Sciences and Engineering closed 1966 

• Courses transferred to Kresge Center for Environmental Health 1966 

• Kresge Center for Environmental Health becomes part of Environmental Health 1998 

Chairs 

1. Alice Hamilton (1922-1923) 

2. Davd Edsall (1923-1928) 

3. Alice Hamilton (1928-1931) 

4. W Irving Clark (1931-1932) 

5. Philip Drinker (1932-1960) [also chair of PHE] 

6. Leslie Silverman (1962-1966) 

7. James L Whittenberger (1966-1981) [also chair of succeeding Divisions] 

8. John B Little (1982-1997) 

9. Joseph D Brain (1998-10025) 

10. Douglas Dockery (2006- 

Timeline 

• Founded 1923 

• Listed in Industrial Hygiene 1923 (group listing only used for one year) 

• Merges with Industrial Toxicology 1925 

• Becomes subdivision of Public Health Engineering 1931 

• Public Health Engineering dissolves 1944 

• Industrial Medicine not listed after 1944? 

Chairs 

1. David Edsall (1923-1929) 

2. Alice Hamilton (1929-1931) 

3. W Irving Clark (1931) 

4. Philip Drinker (1931-1944) 

Timeline 

• Created from merger of Sanitary Engineering, Industrial Hygiene, and Ventilation and Illumination 1931 

• Industrial Hygiene reinstated as full department (1944) 

• Sanitary Engineering reinstated as full department (1944) 

• Ventilation and Illumination, Public Health Engineering not listed after 1944 

Chairs 

1. Philip Drinker (1931-1944) 

Timeline 

• Founded 1922 

• Listed in Industrial Hygiene 1923 (group listing only used for one year) 

• Merges with Public Health Engineering 1931 

• Public Health Engineering not listed after 1944 

Chairs: 

1. Philip Drinker (1922-1944)