Francis M. Pottenger Sr. | |
---|---|
Born | 27 September 1869 |
Died | 10 June 1961 |
Occupation | Physician |
Francis Marion Pottenger (27 September 1869 – 10 June 1961) was an American physician and tuberculosis researcher.
Pottenger obtained his MD from the Cincinnati College of Medicine and Surgery in 1894.[1] He qualified A.M. from Otterbein University in 1907 and L.L.D. in 1909.[2] His wife Carrie Burtner died from tuberculosis in 1898 which prompted him to establish the Pottenger Sanitorium in Monrovia, California in 1903.[1][2] It became the most successful sanitorium in Southern California due to its high recovery rates.[3] Pottenger advocated the use of tuberculin which he believed would create a hostile environment for tuberculosis.[4]
Pottenger founded the Southern California Anti-Tuberculosis League in 1903 for which he was President 1903–1906 and 1939–1941.[1] He was President of the Endocrine Society 1935–1937.[5] In the 1940s, Pottenger was chairman of the Smog Committee of the Los Angeles County Medical Association.[3]
He died at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital, aged 91.[6]
Pottenger married several times. He married his first wife Carrie Burtner in 1894.[2] He had several children with his second wife Adelaide Gertrude. His son Francis M. Pottenger Jr. was also a physician.
His sister Nellie Maude Pottenger was married to Finis E. Fouts, a soybean pioneer.[7]