Milton Rosenau

Milton Joseph Rosenau (January 1, 1869 – April 9, 1946) was an American public health official and professor who was influential in the early twentieth century.

Early life Milton Joseph Rosenau was born in 1869 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, After obtaining his degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1889, he joined the United States Marine Hospital Service. After working for a few years under the supervision of Joseph Kinyoun, Rosenau began his ascent into positions of greater authority.

Camp Jenner Having been promised land by the Mexico-based Tlahuialila Company, about one thousand African Americans migrated across the Texas Mexican border. After finding conditions there far worse than what they had been promised, most decided to migrate back to the United States. In returning and crossing the border through Eagle Pass, they brought back with them a smallpox epidemic. This caused a health crisis at the border. Unwelcome amongst the inhabitants of Eagle Pass, the three hundred or so migrants were placed in a distant and ill-cared for camp just north of the Rio Grande River. After Texas officials sought help from the surgeon general, Rosenau was sent in to manage the camp as a hospital.

Upon arriving, Rosenau named the encampment as Camp Jenner, in honor of Edward Jenner, the British physician responsible for the first smallpox vaccine. Scholars are divided on the success of Rosenau's leadership at Camp Jenner. While some claim Rosenau helped avoid a much larger disaster,

Rosenau authored The Milk Question in 1912 which provided arguments supportive of pasteurization. He publicized research demonstrating how the rapid heating of pasteurization protects milk from bacteria contamination and disease. His records are kept at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he has a building in his name.

Selected publications Disinfection and Disinfectants (1902) Pasteurization (1908) The Milk Question (1912) Preventive Medicine and Hygiene (1913) All About Milk (1919)