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History of Science & Medicine
| Affiliated Faculty |
 William
C. Summers
Lecturer in History; Professor of Therapeutic
Radiology, Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry,
and the History of Medicine (School of Medicine)
Professor William C. Summers' interests range from
molecular biology to Chinese culture and history.
A well-published researcher in virology and in the
history of science and medicine, Professor Summers
earned both his M.D. and his Ph.D. in molecular
biology from the University of Wisconsin in 1967.
He joined the Yale Faculty in 1968. Professor Summers
has held fellowships and visiting faculty positions
at major research universities in the United States,
Sweden, Great Britain, and China; he serves on numerous
panels and editorial boards.
He first travelled to the People's Republic of
China in 1980 with the Yale delegation that re-established
the medical exchange program with the Hunan Medical
College. Professor Summers has done extensive research
on Chinese public health and medicine, publishing
articles on historic parallels between Chinese and
Western medical development, Chinese government
medical policy, and acupuncture.
At Yale, students enjoy Professor Summers' college
seminar, "Plagues and Peoples," which deals with
historical issues of policy and epidemic disease.
He also teaches a seminar on the history of Chinese
science in which he deals with Chinese concepts
of the natural world, Asian technological development,
and East-West scientific interactions. His outgoing
and accessible personality makes him a favorite
among students.
william.summers@yale.edu
Education
- BS (1961), MS (1963), M.D., Ph.D.(1967) (University
of Wisconsin, Madison)
- MAH (Yale)
- NSF Postdoctoral Fellow, MIT, 1967- 1968
- Joined Yale faculty 1968
Research Projects
History of Molecular Biology
The early history of molecular biology is embedded
in the work of physicists who applied concepts from
physics to biological systems. One major aspect
of this early work was the development of the target
theory. The detailed history of the origins of the
target theory has been reconstructed from the published
literature and from archival material. The next
phase of this project will examine the formation
and influences of the American Phage Group. This
material will form some of the background against
which the larger history of molecular biology will
be placed.
History of the Manchurian Plague, 1910-1911
Beginning in October 1910, a major epidemic of pneumonic
plague swept through Manchuria and by the spring
of 1911 had killed between 45,000-60,000 people.
The plague and its aftermath were to play an important
role in the geopolitical events leading up to the
Japanese takeover of Manchuria and complex causes
of World War II. The concentrated force of this
epidemic, its near 100 percent mortality rate, and
its occurrence in a region of international competition
and diplomatic struggle all contributed to the importance
and interest in the Manchurian plague. The "Manchurian
Question" was of immense interest in the United
States: America had just enjoyed its first taste
of successful international leadership upon Roosevelt's
brokering the peace treaty of 1905 that ended the
Russo-Japanese war over territorial rights in Manchuria.
Russia, on the other hand was intent on retaining
what she could of her centuries-old foothold in
east Asia. Japan, modernizing after the Meiji restoration
in 1868, was experiencing international ambitions
and expansionism in Korea and Manchuria, in its
own version of "manifest destiny." China, under
the yoke of war reparations owed to both the Western
Powers and to Japan as the result of the ill- fated
Boxer Rebellion in 1895, was struggling with its
first efforts at modernization while still governed
by the decaying, and increasingly ineffective Qing
dynasty. This project aims to elucidate the multiple
uses which was made of the plague to exhibit the
importance of epidemic disease in geopolitics.
 Publications
- SUMMERS, W.C. 2000. Typhoid (Historical). In:
Lederberg, et al. Eds. Encyclopedia of Microbiology,
Second Edition. New York: Academic Press. 4:755-
757.
- SUMMERS, W.C. 2000. Virus Infection. In: Lederberg,
et al. Eds. Encyclopedia of Microbiology,
Second Edition. New York: Academic Press. 4:832-
836.
- LEDERBERG, J., ALEXANDER, M., BLOOM, B., HOPWOOD,
D. HULL, R., IGLWESKI, B.H., LASKIN, A.I., OLIVER,
S.G., SCHAECHTER, M., AND SUMMERS, W.C., eds.
2000. Encyclopedia of Microbiology, Second
Edition. San Diego: Academic Press. Four volumes
- SUMMERS, W.C. 2000. History of Molecular Biology.
In: Encyclopedia of Life Sciences. London:
Macmillan (in press).
- SUMMERS, W.C. 2000. Entries on: Trofim Lysenko
and Lysenkoism; Luria-Delbrück Experiment;
Salvador Luria; Max Delbrück; Alfred D. Hershey;
Walter Gilbert; Félix d'Herelle. In: S. Brenner
and J. Miller. Eds. Encyclopedia of Genetics.
New York: Academic Press. in press.
- SUMMERS, W.C. 2001. Bacteriophage Therapy. Ann.
Rev. Microbiol. 55:437- 451
- SUMMERS, W.C. 2001. Microbial drug resistance:
A historical perspective. In: Wax, R. ed. Bacterial
Resistance to Antimicrobials: Mechanisms, Genetics,
Medical Practice, and Public Health, Marcel
Dekker (in press).
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