Charles Brenton Huggins

@Physicians, Facts and Childhood ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Charles Huggins was a Canadian-born American physician, surgeon and physiologist who won the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1966 American Canadian Physicians Surgeons Physiologists Virgo Celebrities Charles Brenton Huggins was a Canadian-born American physician, surgeon and physiologist who won the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1966 for his discovery regarding use of hormones to regulate spread of certain types of cancer. Such findings of Huggins was the first of its kind in this field that showed chemicals can be applied to control the spreading of this fatal disease and this path-breaking discovery aided in initiating a new era of drug therapy that laid the foundation for advanced treatment of prostate and breast cancer. He conducted his research work on cancer, specializing in prostate cancer at the ‘University of Chicago’ where he remained director of the ‘Ben May Laboratory for Cancer Research’ for nearly two decades. He was a male urological and genital tract specialist and through his investigations he found that by applying doses of the female hormone estrogen, the actions of the male hormone in a patient can be restricted, which would impede the growth of prostate cancer. Through his investigations, he also displayed the dependency of breast cancers on particular hormones. He succeeded in regressing tumours of a few of his patients by removing the sources of estrogen that is the adrenal glands and the ovaries. Such research work of Huggins paved way for development of drugs that prevent estrogen production in body, thus aiding in the treatment of breast cancer. In 1966 he received the ‘Gairdner Foundation International Award’.

Personal Details

Birthday: September 22, 1901 Died on: January 12, 1997 Nationality: Canadian, American Famous: Physicians, Surgeons, Physicians, Surgeons, Physiologists Spouses: Margaret Wellman Birth Place: Halifax, Nova Scotia Born Country: Canada Information Detail Birthday September 22, 1901 Died on January 12, 1997 Nationality Canadian, American Famous Physicians, Surgeons, Physicians, Surgeons, Physiologists Spouses Margaret Wellman Birth Place Halifax, Nova Scotia Born Country Canada Gender Male Father Charles Edward Huggins Mother Bessie Maria Spencer Sun Sign Virgo Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia Famous as Physician & Surgeon Died at Age 95

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Charles Brenton Huggins born at Unsplash Birth Place

On July 29, 1927, he married Margaret Wellman. The couple had a son and a daughter. His wife died in 1983. Unsplash Personal Life

His son Dr. Charles Edward Huggins was a physician and cryobiologist who helped in developing a procedure of freezing and reusing donated red blood cells in such a way that it can be stored for almost an indefinite period. Charles succumbed to pancreatic cancer at the age of 60 in 1989. Unsplash Personal Life

On January 12, 1997, Huggins died at his Chicago home at the age of 95 after several years of ill-health. He is survived by his daughter Emily Wellman Huggins Fine. Unsplash Personal Life

He was born on September 22, 1901, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada to Charles Edward Huggins and Bessie Maria Spencer as their elder son. His father was a pharmacist. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

He studied in public schools in Halifax. In 1920 he completed his graduation by obtaining a BA degree from the ‘Acadia University’ located in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

He then got enrolled at the ‘Harvard University’ in Boston, Massachusetts to study medicine and earned his MD in 1924. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

From 1924 to 1926 he did his internship at the ‘University of Michigan and thereafter he was inducted as an instructor in Surgery at the Medical School of the University in 1926, a post he served for a year. Unsplash Career

He remained a member of the Faculty of the ‘University of Chicago’ from 1927, serving first as an instructor in Surgery from 1927 to 1929. After initiating his career as a surgeon, he made significant discoveries in urology, a subject that he specialized in while at the university. Unsplash Career

Thereafter he joined as an ‘Assistant Professor at the ‘University of Chicago’ and held the position till 1933 following which he served as Associate Professor of the university until 1936. Unsplash Career

During the 1930s he began his research on cancer, an ailment which at that time was treated by conducting surgery and applying radiation and not by drugs. Unsplash Career

In 1936 he became a Professor of Surgery at the ‘University of Chicago’ and served in the position until 1962 following which he served the university as ‘William B. Ogden Distinguished Service Professor’. Unsplash Career

In 1966 he was awarded the ‘Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine’ for his contributions in the field of cancer research. Unsplash Awards & Achievements

Information	Detail
Birthday	September 22, 1901
Died on	January 12, 1997
Nationality	Canadian, American
Famous	Physicians, Surgeons, Physicians, Surgeons, Physiologists
Spouses	Margaret Wellman
Birth Place	Halifax, Nova Scotia
Born Country	Canada
Gender	Male
Father	Charles Edward Huggins
Mother	Bessie Maria Spencer
Sun Sign	Virgo
Born in	Halifax, Nova Scotia
Famous as	Physician & Surgeon
Died at Age	95

Charles Brenton Huggins

Canadian

Sep 22, 1901

Biography

Personal Details

Halifax, Nova Scotia