Basil O'Connor^[1] (January 8, 1892 Taunton, Massachusetts - March 8, 1972) was an American lawyer. In co-operation with US-President Franklin D. Roosevelt he started two foundations for the rehabiltation of polio patients and the research on polio prevention and treatment. From 1944 to 1949 he was Chairman and President of the American Red Cross and from 1945 to 1950 he was Chairman of the League of Red Cross Societies. January 8 is the 8th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1892 (MDCCCXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...   Settled: 1638 â€“ Incorporated: 1639 Zip Code(s): 02718, 02780, 02783 â€“ Area Code(s): 508 / 774 Official website: http://www. ... is the 67th day of the year (68th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... FDR redirects here. ... This article is about the disease. ... A WWII-era poster encouraged American women to volunteer for the Red Cross as part of the war effort. ... The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRCS) is an international humanitarian organisation, often better known as the Red Cross or the Red Crescent. ...

Biography

Lawyer and businessman

Basil O'Connor
(Source: www.redcross.int)

Basil O'Connor studied law at Dartmouth College and graduated from Harvard Law School and received his admission as a lawyer in 1915.For one year he worked in New York for the law firm Cravath & Henderson and for the next three years for Streeter & Holmes in Boston. In 1919 he founded his own law firm in New York, where he met Franklin D. Roosevelt in the early 1920's and became his legal advisor. In 1924 the two men associated in their own law firm which existed until Roosevelt's first inauguration in 1933. Since 1934 O'Connor was Senior Associate in the law firm O'Connor & Farber. Moreover he was executive manager of a number of companies, among them the New England Fuel Oil Corporation in the 1920's, the American Reserve Insurance Corporation and the West Indies Sugar Corporation in the 1940's. Dartmouth College is a private, coeducational university located in Hanover, New Hampshire, in the United States. ... Harvard Law School, often referred to in shorthand as Harvard Law or HLS, is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... Nickname: City on the Hill, Beantown, The Hub (of the Universe)1, Athens of America, The Cradle of Revolution, Puritan City, Americas Walking City Location in Massachusetts, USA Counties Suffolk County Mayor Thomas M. Menino(D) Area    - City 232. ...

Co-operation with Roosevelt in the fight against polio

In 1921 Franklin D. Roosevelt had developed flaccid paralysis of the upper and lower extremities, which was diagnosed as poliomyelitis. In the light of newer research, however, the disease was probably Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), which was scarcely known at the time. In 1927 Roosevelt founded the Georgia Warm Springs Foundation, with O'Connor as his partner. After Roosevelts death the foundation was renamed to Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation and has eventually come to taking care of patients with handicaps of all kinds. The foundation raised funds to support polio patients and Roosevelt himself was president until his election as Governor of New York. His successor was O'Connor, who had been the foundation's treasurer at the outset. Ten years later, in 1938, the two men joined to initiate the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, which focussed on supporting research on polio prevention and treatment. The foundation became notable because of its fund raising radio campaign March of Dimes with its appeal to Americans to donate one dime for the fight against polio. Since 1979 the foundation's name has been March of Dimes. On April 12, 1955 - ten years after Roosevelts death - the National Foundation published the successful results of Jonas Salks research on the development of a polio vaccine. Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) or acute inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy is an acute, autoimmune disease that affects the peripheral nervous system and is usually triggered by an acute infectious process. ... NY redirects here. ... March of Dimes official logo March of Dimes is the name of health charities in both the United States and Canada. ... March of Dimes official logo March of Dimes is the name of health charities in both the United States and Canada. ... Jonas Edward Salk (October 28, 1914 – June 23, 1995) was an American physician and researcher, best known for the development of the first polio vaccine (the eponymous Salk vaccine). ... Two polio vaccines are used throughout the world to combat polio. ...

Chairman of the Red Cross

On Roosevelts advice O'Connor was Chairman of the American Red Cross from 1944 to 1947 and its President from 1947 to 1949. In this capacity he was also Chairman of the League of Red Cross Societies from 1945 to 1950. A WWII-era poster encouraged American women to volunteer for the Red Cross as part of the war effort. ... The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRCS) is an international humanitarian organisation, often better known as the Red Cross or the Red Crescent. ...

Awards

After his activities for the Red Cross O'Connor devoted much of his time to the work in the two foundations which he presided over until his death. His efforts in fundraising were much more successful than those of other foundations. For example, the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis succeeded in collecting $66.9 mio in 1954 for 100,000 new patients, while in the case of about 10 million patients with heart diseases only $11.3 mio were donated. In 1958 O'Connor received the Mary Woodard Lasker Award for Public Service of the Lasker Foundation in recognition of his efforts in the fight against polio. On January 2, 1958 the National Foundation celebrated its 20^th anniversary at Warm Springs, Georgia and Basil O'Connor was honoured by having his bust inducted into the Polio Hall of Fame next to FDR and fifteen polio scientists from two centuries. The Mary Woodward Lasker Award for Public Service is awarded by the Lasker Foundation. ... The Albert Lasker Medical Research Awards have been awarded annually since 1946 to living persons who have made major contributions to medical science. ... Warm Springs is a city in Meriwether County, Georgia, United States. ...

The following undated quotation is attributed to Basil O'Connor:

„The world cannot continue to wage war like physical giants and to seek peace like intellectual pygmies.“

Bibliography and References

• David M. Oshinsky: Polio - An American Story - The Crusade That Mobilized the Nation Against the 20th Century's Most Feared Disease. Oxford University Press, Oxford and New York 2005, ISBN 0-19-515294-8
• Timothy Takaro: The Man in the Middle. In: Dartmouth Medicine. 29(1)/2004. DMS Publications, p. 52-57; also online: PDF file, ca. 390KB

External links

• Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement History - Basil O'Connor

Notes

1. ^ His complete name at birth was "Daniel Basil O'Connor". He dropped his first name when he found too many "Daniel O'Connor" entries in the New York City directory. His nickname, due to his engagement in medicine, was "Doc"