Twenty-four Flying Geese

 

Maurice Hilleman almost became a Montana chicken farmer, because he had no money to attend college. His older brother and other family members, recognizing a talent worth nurturing, provided some of his tuition; the rest came from scolarships. He graduated first in his class at Montana State University and later received a doctorate in microbiology from the University of Chicago. In a career spanning four decades, Dr. Hilleman created 40 vaccines, including eight of the fourteen routinely given to Americans: the shots for measles, mumps, hepatitis A and B, chickenpox, meningitis, pneumococcus and HIB. Hilleman was by all accounts a difficult man to work with. He swore like a sailor and ran his lab like a military unit. But he was also unfailingly humble. Not one of his 40 vaccines was named for him. You’ve probably never heard his name before. But chances are you and I are both alive today because of his tireless work.