Thomas C. Peebles

Who was Thomas C. Peebles?

Thomas Chalmers Peebles was an American physician who made multiple discoveries in the field of medicine, including being the first to isolate the measles virus. Peebles also did research that led to the development of fluoridated vitamins and did research that showed that tetanus vaccine could be given once every 10 years, rather than annually as had been the widespread practice.

Peebles was born on June 5, 1921, in Newton, Massachusetts, and graduated from Harvard University in 1942 with a major in French language. He enlisted in the United States Navy and served as a bomber pilot in the Pacific Theater of Operations, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross. He had been recruited by KLM as a pilot after completing his military service but chose to apply to Harvard Medical School, which rejected him because he had received a D in college biology. He attended Boston University for a year, taking the pre-med courses he had not taken as an undergraduate. He was finally accepted by Harvard Medical School, but spent an intervening year teaching at an elementary school in South Carolina. He worked at a laundry to help pay for those medical school costs not covered by the G.I. Bill.