SF 613 iP4 L4 (popy 1 FEB . LS.iti Heonarti Pearson. Reprinted from AMERICAN VETERINARY REVIEW. October, 1909. LEONARD PEARSON. EDITORIAL. LEONARD PEARSON. In the same number in which we record the recent brilliant meeting of the A. V. M. A., we regret to have to report the death of one of its most distinguished members. One whose ge- nial presence and words of wisdom were missed at the Chicago meeting by his fellow-members ; but little did they think, that in less than a fortnight from the time of its closing, he would be no more, and that they would never see him again. This distin- guished veterinarian died in the prime of his life and in the midst of his accomplishments, a victim of his ambitions. Possessed of a naturally keen intellect, and a thirst for knowledge gratified by years of devotion to scientific training, both in this country and abroad, he was equipped for his life-work in a manner that could not escape the notice of his fellow-men, be they professional or laymen. As a result of this recognition of his unusual fitness and his attractive personality, positions and honors were thrust upon him ere he had scarcely stepped beyond the threshold of his chosen career. With that beautiful modesty, which is the hand- maiden to greatness, he accepted the honors, not as honors merely, but with a full intention of conscientiously performing the duties that they incurred. His professional life as he shaped it, or as providence shaped it for him, was not alone a brilliant but also a progressively useful one; and added much to the ad- vancement, not alone of veterinary science, but also to sanitary medicine and the live stock industry. His memory will always have associated with it, nobility of character, integrity of purpose and purity of life ; attributes which were his. In his death the veterinary profession has suffered a calamity and the Review has lost a valued collaborator. OBITUARY. LEONARD PEARSON, B.S., V.M.D. Dr. Leonard Pearson was born in Evansville, Indiana, Au- gust 17, 1868. His parents were Leonard and Lucy Small (Jones) Pearson, who were of Puritan ancestors. He died at Spruce Brook, Newfoundland, Monday morning, September 20, 1909. In 1884 he entered Cornell University, and was graduated in 1888 as a Bachelor of Science in the Agricultural course. He was a member of the Chi Psi Fraternity and the Society of the Sigma XL While at Cornell he became interested in veterinary work, and in 1887 he was employed by the United States De- partment of Agriculture under Prof. James Law, his lifelong friend, in assisting to stamp out contagious pleuro-pneumonia of cattle in the vicinity of Chicago. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, Veteri- nary Department, with the class of 1890. The following years of 1890-91 he attended lectures in the veterinary schools of Ber- lin and Dresden and studied bacteriology in Koch's Laboratory and in the Laboratory of the Veterinary Department of the German Army. On his return to America he was elected as- sistant professor of theory and practice of veterinary medicine in the University of Pennsylvania and in 1894 was promoted to a full professorship. In 1897 h e was elected Dean of that in- stitution, a position which he" has since filled with conspicuous ability. In recognition of his research work, the university in OBITUARY. 1908 conferred on him the honorary degree of Doctor of Medi- cine. In 1892 he was appointed non-resident lecturer on veterinary science at the Pennsylvania State College. He was a member of and attended the Seventh International Congress cf Hygiene and Demography, held in London in 1891, and the Third International Congress for the Study of Tuber- culosis that met in Paris in 1898, and in recognition of the ser- vices rendered in the study of animal tuberculosis he was chosen to preside over the section on animal tuberculosis at the Con- gress held in Washington in 1908. He was one of the founders and editors of the " Veterinary Magazine," and the author of numerous papers on veterinary and sanitary subjects. He was a prolific writer and contributor to the literary field of veterinary sciences, the domain of agri- culture, the stock-breeding interests and the whole realm of ani- mal industry and had justly earned the proud title of the lead- ing " animal engineer " of America. As Secretary, then President, he filled the highest offices in the American Veterinary Medical Association, and served two terms as President of the Pennsylvania State Veterinary Medi- cal Association, and the same may be said of him in reference to the Keystone Veterinary Medical Society. He was an active member and past President of the Guernsey Cattle Club of Phila- delphia, a member of the Pennsylvania Live Stock Breeders' As- sociation, State Grange, The American Public Health Associa- tion, Philadelphia City Board of Health, advisory member of the State Board of Health, and Veterinarian to the State Board of Agriculture. He was a member of Ivanhoe Lodge, F. and A. M., and an active member of the Harrisburg Club, the Uni- versity Club and the Union and West Philadelphia Republican Clubs. In all these organizations his genial manner won him hosts of friends. In all his association work he was active and aggressive and furnished most valuable assistance in their man- agement and government. He organized the Pennsylvania State Live Stock Sanitary Board in 1895 and was appointed its secretary and State Vet- erinarian by Governor Hastings and has been reappointed by each succeeding Governor since that time. He commanded the implicit confidence of all his people, from the Governors to the most humble farmers. Few men were better known through- out the Commonwealth than Dr. Pearson and none were more respected. To those interested with him in the Veterinary De- partment of the University of Pennsylvania, the State Live Stock Sanitary Board and similar organizations with which his work has been so intricately woven, his loss is felt with the keen- est sorrow. He knew how to think, speak and write, was conscientious, far-sighted, honest, possessed good judgment and enjoyed the general esteem of all who knew him. He was a captivating ora- tor, precise, methodical and clear, and possessed to a high degree the gift of analysis, synthesis and generalization. The many ab- stract and complex problems filtered through his mind as a pure crystal. Speaking or writing, he reflected the exceptional quali- ties of his beautiful intellect. There was exactness and faith- fulness to the rules of our language and a perfect fitness of words to express ideas in every sentence he used. Dr. Jas. G. Rutherford has well said of him, " Dr. Pearson was in a class by himself among the veterinarians of this continent, while even in the Old World there are few who rank anywhere near him. He was not only a great veterinarian but a great man in many other ways, and one who, had he been spared, would have made a well-defined mark on the national life of his own as well as that of other countries." His work has been unique in char- acter from the fact that through his conception most of it has been created. Much of it has been completed, the greater por- tion planned and years of intelligent application will be required to carry it to a successful fruition. May the same all wise Provi- dence Who, in His infinite wisdom, has removed this man in the prime of life, direct those who are to take up his many bur- dens. OBITUAEY. Dr. Pearson's illness dates back two years or more when his family and friends became aware of the fact that his manifold duties and responsibilities were telling - on him. With his energy already taxed to the utmost, his exhausted condition was greatly aggravated by the additional worry and effort, incident to the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Pennsylvania in the early part of the past winter. This, combined with his efforts in se- curing, from the last Legislature, much needed appropriations for buildings and maintenance for the Veterinary School and also funds for the administration of the work of the State Live Stock Sanitary Board, called forth the limit of his capacity. With this marvellous amount of work accomplished, it was ar- ranged to relieve him of much of the routine work of his official duties; and, after the narrow escape of his mother and himself from asphyxiation with illuminating gas due to his experiencing a fainting spell while caring for his mother who was at that time ill, he was finally persuaded to take the rest which up to this time he had considered impossible. After recovering sufficiently from the acute affects of the gas poisoning', he decided upon a sea voyage, a form of recreation to which he was most partial, and accordingly sailed on a coast line steamer for Savannah in the early part of July. On his return, he immediately em- barked for England, returning by way of Halifax, where, on the advice of his physicians and friends, he decided to remain for an indefinite period. He was later compelled to go to New- foundland on account of an attack of hay fever, to which he was subject, and at the time of his death was sojourning at the Log Cabin, Spruce Brook, a secluded place on the southwest shore of Newfoundland. The latest communications received from him indicated that he was improving and that he hoped to be able to return to his office in Philadelphia within a short time. A few hours prior to his death he suffered a sudden collapse which was followed by a hemorrhage that resulted in death in a few minutes. It was gratifying to learn that he had received the best of attention, medical and otherwise, during his stay at the Log Cabin, which was found to be an ideal place for rest and re- cuperation O OBITUAEY. Next to the members of his immediate family and personal friends, it is our profession, over which his glory has thrown a splendor so bright, that will feel his loss most deeply. He was pleasant and affable in manner, generous in nature, thoughtful and considerate of others at all times and had won a coveted place among the members of his chosen profession. In the dis- charge of great responsibilities, a full measure of which he always accepted, he was eminently successful and a nation's people have become his debtor. He has given his life in unselfish service for others. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS mill :mi , mi iiiNiM 002 843 765 1