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	C. Everett Koop | Wilbur A. Sawyer | Fred L. Soper | Reports of the Surgeon General | Visual Culture and Health

The 20th century was a time of great improvements in public health. Vaccinations were developed to prevent many infectious diseases, and antibiotics controlled the bacterial infections that had previously made injuries, surgery, childbirth, and childhood diseases so deadly. Social and behavioral interventions reduced workplace accidents and cigarette smoking. Better treatments for common diseases such as atherosclerosis and cancer have helped millions to lead longer, healthier lives. Today, the average life expectancy in the United States is approximately 80 years, compared to only 47 years in 1900, and public health specialists continue to work to spread these benefits worldwide.

• C. Everett Koop
  C. Everett Koop (b. 1916) is an American pediatric surgeon who during a forty-year medical career pioneered important improvements in the surgical treatment of children. As U.S. Surgeon General from 1981 to 1989, he turned the office into an authoritative platform from which to educate the nation on major public health concerns including smoking, violence, and, most urgently, AIDS.
  (Available September 2004)

• Wilbur A. Sawyer
  Wilbur A. Sawyer (1879-1951) was an American public health administrator who played a key role in preventive medicine and international public health during the first part of the twentieth century. He developed the first effective yellow fever vaccine, and was one of the architects of the World Health Organization.
  (Available September 2004)

• Fred L. Soper
  Fred Soper (1893-1977), was an American epidemiologist and public health administrator who won a Lasker Award in 1946 for organizing successful campaigns to eradicate yellow fever and malaria between 1927 and 1945.
  (Available May 2003; press release)

• Reports of the Surgeon General
  The Reports of the Surgeon General contains official reports, conference and workshop reports, and proceedings from the Office of the Surgeon General. Included are the 1964 Report on Smoking and Health, reports on AIDS, smoking, disease prevention, violence, and children's health, among others.
  (Available February 2002)

• Visual Culture and Health
  Images play a role in health education and disease prevention, and tell us about the history of health care and the world we live in.
  (Available November 2003)