Stubbins Ffirth

Stubbins Ffirth (1784–1820)[1] was an American trainee doctor notable for his unusual investigations into the cause of yellow fever. He theorized that the disease was not contagious, believing that the drop in cases during winter showed that it was more likely a result of the heat and stresses of the summer months. While correct in noting that yellow fever was significantly more prevalent in summer, Ffirth's explanation proved to be incorrect. It was a full six decades after his death that a breakthrough would be made, with Cuban scientist Carlos Finlay discovering the link to mosquitoes carrying the disease.[2]

Stubbins Ffirth
Born1784 (1784)
Died1820 (aged 35–36)
NationalityAmerican
OccupationDoctor
  1. ^ Smaglik, Paul (October 16, 2003). "It could be worse..." Nature. 425 (6959): 745. doi:10.1038/nj6959-745a. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 14562109. S2CID 10488307.
  2. ^ Chaves-Carballo, Enrique (October 2005). "Carlos Finlay and yellow fever: triumph over adversity". Military Medicine. 170 (10): 881–885. doi:10.7205/milmed.170.10.881. PMID 16435764.