Williams, Anna Wessels (1863–1954)

American bacteriologist who made possible the widespread, cost-effective production of diphtheria anti-toxin and also aided in the diagnosis of rabies . Born on March 17, 1863, in Hackensack, New Jersey; died of heart failure on November 20, 1954, in Westwood, New Jersey; daughter of William Williams (a teacher) and Jane (Van Saun) Williams; educated at home; graduated from the New Jersey State Normal School, 1883; New York Infirmary Woman's Medical College, M.D., 1891.

Joined staff of New York Infirmary upon receiving her M.D. (1891–1905); together with William Hallock Park, produced successful antitoxin for diphtheria (1894); produced method of determining presence of rabies in pathology (1896); served as assistant director of New York City Research Laboratories (1905–34); was the author of numerous medical papers, articles, and textbooks, including (as co-author) Pathogenic Microorganisms Including Bacteria and Protozoa (1905) and Who's Who among the Microbes (1929).

Anna Wessels Williams was born in 1863 into a large family in Hackensack, New Jersey. Her parents were very religious, and home schooled each of their children until grade six. Upon entering Hackensack's public school system at age 12, Williams was captivated by the books and other resources available for her use, particularly the microscope, which opened up a new world to her. After completing high school, she embarked upon a teaching career before switching to the study of medicine. The reason for this change of focus was a family tragedy: in 1887 her sister gave birth to a stillborn baby and almost died due to eclampsia, a toxemia incurred during pregnancy. With the support of both her parents, Williams enrolled at the New York Infirmary's Woman's Medical College, and received her M.D. in 1891. However, she decided against entering the medical profession, realizing that the number of diseases for which there was as yet no treatment would make that career path highly stressful to her. Instead, she determined to devote her life to finding those treatments, and remained at the infirmary through 1905, working as an assistant and as a consulting pathologist.

Meanwhile, Williams also volunteered at the city's Department of Health. Beginning in 1894, she assisted director William Hallock Park in his effort to find an easily produced anti-toxin for diphtheria, then one of the major causes of death in children due to the scarcity of an antidote. Early in their joint research, Williams isolated a strain of the diphtheria bacillus—later referred to as Park-Williams #8—which generated substantially more toxin. This discovery made production of the corresponding antitoxin less costly and faster, allowing New York City health officials to fight the disease more rapidly, particularly among poorer residents who could now receive the antitoxin free of charge. Williams' discovery of Park-Williams #8 had resounding repercussions: New York's successful program was adopted by public health facilities nationwide, and an immunization program based on her work would take place in the mid-1940s, making diphtheria a rare occurrence.

In addition to diphtheria, Williams also did research in an effort to stop other diseases, such as chronic eye infections, measles, smallpox, and scarlet fever. A trip to France's Pasteur Institute in 1896 sparked her interest in combating the deadly rabies virus, and she obtained a quantity of the virus sufficient to allow large-scale vaccine production and distribution to begin by the end of the century. But it was not enough simply to produce a vaccine against rabies; Williams also recognized the need for quick diagnosis of potentially rabid animals, a process that at the time involved injecting cells from a suspected carrier into a healthy animal and awaiting the result. Identifying the presence of unusual cells within the brain tissue of infected animals through autopsies in a laboratory setting, she developed a means of staining brain tissue to reveal the presence of these cells almost immediately. For her work in this area, the American Public Health Association appointed Williams chair of its committee to standardize the diagnosis of rabies.

In 1905, Williams was named assistant director of the New York City Research Laboratories, a position she held until her retirement in 1934. During her tenure there, the presence of women on laboratory staffs greatly increased, team work was encouraged, and many processes were streamlined. During World War II, she put her talents to work developing a training program for war service laboratory workers both in the United States and abroad. In addition to her duties as director, she co-authored, with fellow bacteriologist Park, Pathogenic Microorganisms Including Bacteria and Protozoa (1905), a popular textbook considered the foundation in its field. A prolific writer, she also published several other books and articles, as well as numerous professional papers. Forced into mandatory retirement despite the objections of her co-workers, the 70-year-old Williams moved to New Jersey, where she lived with her sister until her death in 1954. Among the many honors she received over the course of her career was being elected to an office in the laboratory section of the American Public Health Association, the first woman to be given such office.

sources:

Bailey, Brooke. The Remarkable Lives of 100 Women Healers and Scientists. Holbrook, MA: Bob Adams, 1994.

Sicherman, Barbara, and Carol Hurd Green, eds. Notable American Women: The Modern Period. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University, 1980.

Pamela Shelton , freelance writer, Avon, Connecticut