Joseph W. Beard Papers, 1920-1994

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Summary

Creator:
Beard, Joseph Willis
Abstract:
Contains the professional papers of Joseph W. Beard (1906-1983), virologist at the Duke University School of Medicine, and Dorothy Waters Beard (1909-1984), his research partner and wife. Types of materials include correspondence, writings, memorabilia, contracts, certificates, plaques, photographs, a drawing, a photograph album, and a eulogy. Major subjects include Duke University Medical Center, cancer research, virus diseases, leukemia, avian leukosis viruses, oncogenic viruses, and virus disease. Materials range in date from 1920 to 1994.
Extent:
5 Linear Feet (2 cartons, 3 manuscript boxes, 1 flat box)
Language:
English
Collection ID:
MC.0006

Background

Scope and content:

Contains correspondence, writings, memorabilia, contracts, certificates, plaques, photographs, a drawing, a photograph album, and a eulogy. Major subjects include Duke University Medical Center, cancer research, virus diseases, leukemia, avian leukosis viruses, oncogenic viruses, and virus disease. Materials range in date from 1920 to 1994.

Biographical / historical:

Joseph Willis Beard was born in 1906 in Athens, Louisiana. He earned a BS from University of Chicago in1925 and a MD from Vanderbilt University in 1929. Joseph Beard met his wife, Dorothy Waters, at Vanderbilt University. Dorothy Waters Beard, a 1929 graduate of Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, became a prominent member of Joseph Beard's research group, collaborating with him on over 125 research publications. Joseph Beard was noted for his early accomplishments in cancer and viruses in animal and humans. In 1933, Beard and scientist Peyton Rous of the Rockefeller Institute wanted to study a particular group of cells. They devised the method of pulling blood cells out of veins using a magnetic force. The New York Evening World Telegram called their accomplishment an 'ingenious trick.'
Beard joined the Duke University faculty in 1937. Together, Joseph and Dorothy Beard were an internationally prominent cancer research team. In 1938, one year after coming to Duke University, Dr. Beard's group developed the first usable vaccine for equine encephalomyelitis, a disease that then struck down thousands of horses. This development was due in part to the funding of Lederle Laboratories, owned by William Brown Bell, a Duke Endowment Trustee and President of American Cyanamid Company. Bell's support allowed Duke scientists to progress rapidly in successfully developing the vaccine and subsequently becoming national leaders in vaccine and immunization. In the 1940s, Dr. Beard purified and photographed the virus which causes warts and skin cancer in rabbits. In 1950, Dr. Beard received a grant from the American Cancer Society to research and isolate the cause of avian leukosis, a cancer-like disease that cost the poultry industry millions of dollars each year. In subsequent research, Dr. Beard isolated and identified cancer viruses that cause leukemia in chickens, and he and his associates were one of the two groups to first report tangible evidence of viruses in association with human leukemia.
Dr. Beard became the James B. Duke professor of surgery in 1946 and was appointed professor of virology in 1965. Dr. Beard received Borden Award for outstanding research in medicine, presented annually by the Association of American Medical Colleges. Dr. Beard continued to be recognized locally and nationally for his work, winning funding and awards frequently. Dr. Beard produced over 300 publications on surgical shock; chemical, physical, and biological properties of animal viruses; and on cancer induced by mammalian and avian viruses. Some of Dr. Beard's works include International Conference on Avian Tumor Viruses 1964, Symposium: Phenomena of the Tumor Viruses 1960, Bacteriology (1957), and Microbiology (1960). Joseph Beard served Duke University until his retirement in 1973. From about 1973 until 1983, the Beards were associated with Life Sciences Incorporated, located in their place of retirement, St. Petersburg, Florida. Joseph Beard died in 1983. Dorothy Waters Beard died in 1984.

Acquisition information:
Source unknown (acquired, circa 1983), source unknown (acquired, circa 2002), Accession A2021.086 (gift by Dani Bolognesi, November 2021)
Custodial history:

Acquired; circa 1983 and circa 2002

Processing information:

Processed by Emily Glenn: July 2003; updated by Victor Gordon under the supervision of Lucy Waldrop November-March 2021-2022

Arrangement:
Organized into the following series: Correspondence, 1930-1994; Personal Materials, 1920-1983; Research and Legal Materials, 1940-1982; Photographs, Memorabilia, and Awards, 1932-1979; Oversized Photographs and Scrapbooks, circa 1920-1977.
Physical location:
For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Rules or conventions:
DACS

Contents

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Restrictions:

None.

Terms of access:

Copyright for Official University records is held by Duke University; all other copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Joseph W. Beard Papers, Duke University Medical Center Archives.