Edwin George Hastings

Edwin George Hastings (August 11, 1872, Ashtabula County, Ohio – September 29, 1953, Orlando, Florida) was an American professor of agricultural bacteriology, known for his work with Harry Luman Russell on bovine tuberculosis and applications of the tuberculin test to herds of cattle. Hastings was the president in 1923 of the American Society for Microbiology.

Biography Born on a farm near Austinburg, Ohio, Edwin George Hastings graduated in 1898 with a B.S. from Ohio State University. At the University of Wisconsin–Madison he graduated in 1899 with an M.S. His M.S. thesis is entitled A study of the action of various types of bacteria upon the nitrogenous constituents of milk. In 1901 and 1902 he studied at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU). Upon his return to the US, he married Elva J. Waters. Working with the United States Bureau of Animal Industry, Hastings was among the first scientists in the USA to isolate the causative organism of paratuberculosis and to manufacture and apply johnin in testing cattle for paratuberculosis.

In 1910 Hastings was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. His presidential address to the American Society of Microbiology was given on December 29, 1923. In 1942 Ohio State University awarded him an honorary doctorate.

Selected publications