science · 20 September 1888 · 136 years ago
birth
Born 20 Sep 1888; died 6 Nov 1976 at age 88.
American pathologist whose substantial research on the treatment of goitre with iodine led to the iodizing of table salt. During 1917-22 he ran a trial on a large group of schoolgirls to show that an iodine supplement dramatically reduced the incident of goitre (a major swelling of the thyroid gland in the neck). His results clearly showed the important of iodine in the diet. Dr. David. M. Cowie promoted the production of iodized table salt, first sold on 1 May 1924, and later throughout the U.S., greatly reducing the incidence of goitre. Marine worked on salt iodization for the World Health Organization, further spreading its benefits. (As early as 1821 French chemist Jean-Baptiste Boussingault had observed that iodine-rich salt could treat goiter.)
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