Wallace Osgood Fenn

Wallace Osgood Fenn

Biography Fenn was born in Lanesborough, Massachusetts. He graduated from Harvard University with an A.B. degree in 1914. His graduate work and Ph.D. thesis were interrupted by World War I, and he finished it upon return from the army in 1919. He was an instructor at Harvard Medical School from 1919 to 1923. He then studied at the Rockefeller Institute for two years. Subsequently, he assumed his position as the chairman of the department of physiology at the University of Rochester, where he stayed until 1959. He specialized in the physiology of runners, then in aviation, and later in space exploration. The American Physiological Society obituary described him as " sincerely modest man [who] avoided the spotlight and never dominated a meeting or conversation, but he was forceful when required and had a warm, outgoing nature with a delightful sense of humor". 1946: American Philosophical Society, Elected Member 1948: American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Elected Member 1949: John Frederick Lewis Award, American Philosophical Society 1958: Fold Medal Award, University of Rochester Medical Alumni Association 1961: Certificate of Merit, Rochester Academy of Medicine 1964: Daniel and Florence Guggenheim Award, International Academy of Astronautics 1964: Antonio Feltrinelli International Prize for Experimental Medicine, Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Rome 1967: Research Achievement Award, American Heart Association 1971: Johannes Muller Medallion, The German Physiological Society 1971: Ville de Monaco Medal

Honorary degrees 1950: University of Chicago, D.Sc. 1959: Universidad San Marcos, Peru, Catedratico 1960: Universote de Paris, Docteur 1965: Université Libre de Bruxelles, Docteur 1965: The University of Rochester, D.Sc.

Notable publications Respiration: 10 editions published between 1964 and 1976 in English and held in 278 libraries worldwide History of the American Physiological Society; the third quarter century, 1937–1962: 4 editions published in 1963 in English and held in 190 libraries worldwide History of the International Congresses of Physiological Sciences, 1889–1968: 7 editions published between 1968 and 1969 in English and held in 159 libraries worldwide Muscle: 1 edition published in 1941 in English and held in 33 libraries worldwide

Other publications: Daggs, R. G. Wallace O. Fenn, 1893–1971. Physiologist 14: 301–303, 1971. Physiology on horseback. Past-president's address. Am. J. Physiol. 159: 551–555, 1949. Fenn, W. O. Born fifty years too soon. Annu. Rev. Physiol. 24: 1–10, 1962. Fenn, W. O. History of the American Physiological Society: The Third Quarter Century, 1937–1962. Washington, DC: Am. Physiol. Soc., 1963. Fenn, W. O. (Editor) History of the International Congresses of Physiological Sciences, 1889–1968. Washington, DC: Am. Physiol. Soc., 1968. Rahn, H. Wallace O. Fenn, president of the American Physiological Society, 1946–1948. Physiologist 19: 1–10, 1976. Rahn, H. Wallace Osgood Fenn, August 27, 1893 – September 20, 1971. Biogr. Mem. Natl. Acad. Sci. 50: 141–173, 1979.