Yandell Henderson

Yandell Henderson was born in Louisville, KT in April 23^rd of 1873. As a child, he attended Chennault’s school in Louisville before moving onto Yale University to continue his education. He graduated with his Bachelor of Arts in 1895 and continued on to earn his Doctorate in 1898 in physiological chemistry. Following his graduation, Henderson moved abroad to Germany to continue his studies at the University of Marburg. In Germany, he worked closely with both Albrecht Kossel and Karl Voit.

In 1900, Henderson returned to Yale as an instructor in the Medical School. He was married to Mary Gardner Colby in 1903 and they had two children. Henderson became a Professor in 1911. In this same year, he helped organize the Anglo-American Pikes Peak Expedition with J.S. Haldane at Oxford University. This voyage sparked his interest in high altitude physiology and blood changes with acclimation.

On May 21, 1915, the Times published the first of a series of articles by Henderson which urged the American public not to adopt an anti-German stance. He was very much against the war with Germany. However, he was employed by the U.S. government and helped to improve the gas masks worn by the Allied forces. He serves as the chief of the medical section of the United States war gas investigations which were conducted by the Bureau of Mines. Henderson also served as the chairman of the Medical Board for the Aviation Section of the Signal Corps. He helped to develop a series of tests designed to study the limits of pilots.

Following 1920, Henderson refocused and became a Professor of Applied Physiology. His work with Haggard and Coburn helped identify uses of carbon dioxide including eliminating anesthetic and preventing post-op illness. He also helped invent the H&H Inhalator but did not patent the creation. His work on the Henderson-Haggard technique helped to stimulate breathing in newborns.

Henderson’s testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee in 1932 was supporting a modification of the Volstead Act that would permit the sale of 3.2% beer. This testimony was significant beyond the issue that alcoholic beverages had not been legally available for sale for the last 15 years. With the onset of the Great Depression, the government was hesitant to continue to uphold its stance position against all alcoholic beverages. Also, there was a push to control the sales of liquor by legalizing it. Henderson seemed an odd choice for this case as his work had focused primarily on respiration thus far.

A person was deemed intoxicated when they could no longer operate a motor vehicle safely. Along these guidelines, Henderson argued that a person would have to consume between 2-3 quarts of beer to consume as much alcohol as 4 cocktails. His position as a well-recognized Yale professor and rhetoric skills helped him compete in a field where he knew little more than the average person.

Henderson retired and became a Professor Emeritus in 1938. Soon after his wife passed away, Henderson too died of intestinal difficulties. He was succeeded by his two children.

1873:Born April 23rd in Louisville, KT

1895:Graduates with a B.A. from Yale University

1898:Earns his Ph.D.at Yale in physiological chemistry

1899:Travels to the University of Marburg, studying under Albrecht Kossel; Works with Karl Voit in Munich

1900:Returns to Yale as an instructor in Physiology at the Medical School

1903:Marries Mary Gardner Colby of Newton Center, MA on April 2^nd

1911:Becomes Professor of Physiology; Helps organize the Anglo-American Pikes Peak Expedition with J.S. Haldane of Oxford University

1914:Serves as chief of the medical section of the United States war gas investigations conducted by the Bureau of Mines; Improves gas masks used by Allied forces

1915:May 21st, Times publishes Henderson’s letter against the rising tide of anti-German sentiment and the nation’s seeming drift toward war with Germany

1917:Serves as chairman of the Medical Board, Aviation Section, Signal Corps

1920:Becomes Professor of Applied Physiology at Yale; Transfers laboratory out of Medical school; Identifies use of carbon dioxide as a means of eliminating anesthetic and preventing post-op illness

1922:Invents but does not patent the H&H Inhalator which was used by rescue crews of the Consolidated Gas Company

1928:Henderson-Haggard technique is first used to stimulate breathing in newborns

1932:Testifies before the House Ways and Means Committee that 4% beer is virtually non-intoxicating

1938:Becomes Professor of Physiology Emeritus at Yale

1943:Wife Mary dies

1944:Dies February 18^th in La Jolla, CA of an intestinal ailment

Yandell Henderson argued that alcohol was a poison but still a normal part of daily life. He suggested that it had much akin with carbon monoxide.

Selected works

Douglas, CG, Haldane, JS, Henderson, Y, Schneider, EC, Webb, GB, & Richards, J (1913). Physiological observations made on Pike’s Peak, Colorado,with special reference to adaptation to low barometric pressures. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Containing Papers of a Biological Character, 203, 185-318.

Henderson, Y., & Haggard, H. W. (1943). Noxious gases and the principles of respiration influencing their action: 2nd and revised edition. Scranton, NY : Reinhold Publishing Company.

Henderson, Y. (1906). The volume curve of the ventricles of the mammalian heart, and the significance of this curve in respect to the mechanics of the heart-beat and the filling of the ventricles. American Physiological Society, 16 (3), 325-367.

Wikipedia Entry

Obituary – Transactions of the American Clinical and Climatological Association

Is liquor intoxicating? Scientists, prohibition, and the normalization of drinking by P.J. Pauly