BURIED TOGETHER
Partner Ida A. R. Wylie, buried together
Queer Places:
Stanford University, 450 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA 94305, Stati Uniti
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, Stati Uniti
Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, Stati Uniti
Trevenna Farm, 208 Orchard Rd, Skillman, NJ 08558, Stati Uniti
Louise Pearce (March 5, 1885 – August 10, 1959)
was an
American
pathologist at the
Rockefeller Institute who helped develop a treatment for
African sleeping sickness (trypanosomiasis).[1][3]
Sleeping sickness was a fatal epidemic which had devastated areas of Africa,
killing two-thirds of the population of the Uganda protectorate between 1900
and 1906 alone.[4]
With chemists
Walter Abraham Jacobs and
Michael Heidelberger and pathologist
Wade Hampton Brown, Pearce worked to develop and test arsenic-based drugs
for its treatment. In 1920, Louise Pearce traveled to the
Belgian Congo where she designed and carried out a drug testing protocol
for human trials to establish
tryparsamide's safety, effectiveness, and optimum dosage.[5]
Tryparsamide proved successful in combating the fatal epidemic, curing 80% of
cases.[6]
For her work on sleeping sickness, Pearce received the
Order of the Crown of Belgium (1920[2]
or 1921[6]).
In 1953, Belgium further honored her, appointing Pierce and her co-workers as
Officers of the
Royal Order of the Lion[2]
Pearce also successfully developed treatment protocols to apply
tryparsamide to syphilis. She spent much of her career studying animal models
of cancer.
Louise Pearce was born on March 5, 1885, in Winchester, Massachusetts. She
was the eldest child of Charles Ellis Pearce and Susan Elizabeth Hoyt. They
later had a son, Robert. The family moved to California, where Louise attended
the Girls Collegiate School in
Los
Angeles.[3]
Louise Pearce received an
A.B. degree in
physiology and
histology
from
Stanford University in 1907.[3]
She was a member of
Pi
Beta Phi.
[7]
She attended
Boston University from 1907-1909,[2]
and was admitted to
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1907, with advanced
standing.[3]
In 1912 she obtained her
M.D. from Johns Hopkins, graduating third in her class.[2]
She then worked for a year in the hospital as a house officer, serving at the
Phipps Psychiatric Clinic.[8][9]
Pearce was recommended by Dr. Welch of Johns Hopkins as "a promising medical
pathologist."[3]
Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA
.JPG)
Trevenna Farm, Skillman
In 1913, Pearce took a research position at the
Rockefeller Institute, the first female to be so appointed. She worked as
an assistant to Dr.
Simon Flexner, the Institute's director. Pearce remained at
Rockefeller Institute for the rest of her career, from 1913 to 1951.[9]
She was promoted to associate member in 1923. For much of her time there, she
worked closely with pathologist Dr.
Wade Hampton Brown.[3]
Although she advanced from assistant to associate, she was never promoted to a
full member of the institute.[2]
For many years, Louise Pearce lived with physician
Sara Josephine Baker and author
Ida A. R. Wylie. All were members of
Heterodoxy, a feminist biweekly luncheon discussion club, of which many
members were lesbian or bisexual.[20]
In the mid-1930s, after Baker retired, the three women lived together at
Trevanna Farm,
Skillman, New Jersey.[3]
After Baker's death in 1945, Wylie and Pearce continued living there until
both died in 1959.[9]
Her home was described as a "most delightful and interesting place to live and
study. Her shelves were crowded with many old editions of medical treasures,
the latest scientific literature and the latest works on international
questions. She had a wonderful collection of Chinese carvings and porcelains."[3]
Wylie and Pearce are buried alongside each other at Henry Skillman Burying
Ground, Trevenna Farm's family cemetery.[21]
My published books:
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_Pearce