Donald Henderson (born 1928) spearheaded the drive to eradicate smallpox, the only disease ever to have been wiped out. He is the head of the Office of Public Health Preparedness, a position responsible for protecting the public from bioterrorism.

Henderson Wiped Out Smallpox

Donald Ainslie Henderson, known as D.A., was born in Lakewood, Ohio, in 1928 to David and Grace Henderson. He received his bachelor of arts degree from Oberlin College in 1950. In 1951, he married Nana Irene Bragg. The couple have three children. Henderson received his medical degree from the University of Rochester in 1954 and was an intern and resident at the Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown, New York. From 1955 to 1966 he also worked for the Center for Disease Control.

Henderson ran the World Health Organization's smallpox eradication program from 1966 to 1977. During the 20th century, at least 300 million people died of smallpox. As late as 1960, about five million...