Harris, William H.

Submitted by Mike Miller

Harris, William H., well-known New Orleans physician and specialist in bacteriology, was born in Chillicothe, O., Oct. 6, 1885; son of Delbert and Elizabeth (Goeltz) Harris, born, respectively, in Virginia and Chillicothe, O., where the mother also died in 1887. The father was a graduate of the University of Virginia, afterward became a sculptor, and followed that profession throughout the remainder of his life. When 7 years old, William H. Harris was taken to New Orleans, La., where he afterward became a student at the Jesuits' college, from which institution he graduated in 1902 and in the same year entered the medical department of Tulane university, completing the course and taking his medical degree at Tulane in 1907, after having served 2 years--1905-1907, inclusive--as interne in the New Orleans Charity hospital. For 2 years following his graduation he engaged in private practice, in connection with laboratory work at Tulane as assistant demonstrator in Pathology and Bacteriology. In 1909 he gave up his general practice and began specializing in Pathology and Bacteriology. Since 1910 he has been Pathologist for the Presbyterian hospital at New Orleans, and since 1911 also instructor in Pathology and bacteriology in the medical department of Tulane university. Dr. Harris is a member of the Roman Catholic church, and is also affiliated with the Orleans Parish Medical association, Louisiana State Medical association, American Medical association and the Phi Chi medical fraternity. Recently Dr. Harris has come into national prominence through research connected with pellagra and experiments bearing upon infection of lower animals with that disease. The preliminary report of this work has already been published.

Louisiana: Comprising Sketches of Parishes, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedic Form (volume 3), p. 194. Edited by Alcée Fortier, Lit.D. Published in 1914, by Century Historical Association.