Jonas Salk’s 100th Birthday
The History of Polio is forever and inextricably linked with Jonas Salk . Salk’s eagerly anticipated achievement of inoculation against the much feared polio virus was made public on April 12, 1955
Not long after the announcement of the success of the Salk Vaccine , Jonas appeared in what would become a well-known television interview with Edward R. Murrow. When Murrow asked why he did not obtain a patent on his medical discovery, Salk famously said in response, “Would you patent the sun?” His response left the impression that it was a morally motivated decline on Salk’s part that resulted in an unpatented invention. But there are other details that point to the possibility of an altogether different reason having less to do with Salk and more to do with other factors apart from Salk’s refusal to apply for a patent.
October 28, 1914 marks the 100th anniversary of Jonas Salk’s birthday.