Dr. Philip Showalter Hench was a pioneering American physician whose transformative work fundamentally advanced the field of rheumatology during the twentieth century. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on February 28, 1896, he received his undergraduate education at Lafayette College and completed his medical training at the University of Pittsburgh and through the United States Army Medical Corps. He began his distinguished career at the Mayo Clinic in 1923, where he established and led the Department of Rheumatic Diseases starting in 1926, building one of the nation's premier centers for arthritis research. During World War II, Hench served with distinction as Chief of the Medical Service and Director of the Army's Rheumatism Center at the Army and Navy General Hospital, demonstrating his commitment to medical advancement during critical historical periods.
Dr. Hench's most groundbreaking contribution was the discovery and clinical application of cortisone for treating rheumatoid arthritis, a paradigm-shifting achievement that revolutionized therapeutic approaches to inflammatory diseases. His astute clinical observations that rheumatoid arthritis symptoms improved during pregnancy and jaundice led him to hypothesize the existence of a natural pain-alleviating substance produced by the body. Collaborating with Edward C. Kendall at the Mayo Clinic, Hench successfully administered compound E, later named cortisone, to a severely affected patient in 1948, resulting in dramatic clinical improvement within days that astonished the medical community. This landmark work provided the first effective therapy for rheumatoid arthritis and established the foundation for modern corticosteroid therapy, transforming the treatment landscape for millions suffering from autoimmune and inflammatory conditions worldwide.
Beyond his Nobel Prize-winning discovery, Dr. Hench made significant contributions to medical history through his meticulous two-decade research on the U.S. Army's Yellow Fever Commission, producing what is widely considered the most accurate historical record of the conquest of yellow fever. He was instrumental in establishing rheumatology as a distinct medical specialty, serving as president of the American Rheumatism Association in 1940 and 1941 and helping shape the field's research agenda. Hench's legacy continues to profoundly influence modern medicine, with corticosteroids remaining essential therapeutic agents across numerous medical disciplines more than seven decades after his discovery. His commitment to rigorous clinical observation and translational research established an enduring model for physician-scientists seeking to bridge laboratory discoveries with meaningful patient care improvements.
