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Early Life
Milton Rosenau, born in the year 1869 in the state of Pennsylvania, was an influential American public health officials in the early twentieth century. After obtaining his degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1889, he joined the United States Marine Hospital Service, beginning a long and successful career in public service. After working for a few years under the supervision of the prestigious Dr. Joseph Kinyoun, Rosenau began his ascent into positions of greater authority.

Camp Jenner
Having been promised land by the Mexico-based Tlahuialila Company, about one thousand African Americans migrated across the Texas Mexican border. After finding conditions there far worse than what they had been promised, most decided to migrate back to the United States. In returning and crossing the border through Eagle Pass, they brought back with them a smallpox epidemic. This caused caused a health crisis at the border. Unwelcome amongst the inhabitants of Eagle Pass, the three hundred or so migrants were placed in a distant and ill-cared for camp just north of the Rio Grande River. After Texas officials sought help from the Surgeon General, Rosenau was sent in to manage the camp as a hospital. Upon arriving, Rosenau named the encampment as Camp Jenner, in honor of Edward Jenner, the British physician responsible for the first smallpox vaccine. In addition to treating smallpox and preventing its spread, Rosenau was charged with testing a new smallpox vaccine upon the migrants. Due to the potential of the quarantine generating political controversy, Rosenau helped to justify the endeavor, taking photographs that emphasized the happiness of the camp’s residents as well as the capable control exercised by doctors and camp guards. Scholars are divided on the success of Rosenau’s leadership at Camp Jenner. While some claim Rosenau helped avoid a much larger disaster, more recently, historian John Mckiernan-Gonzalez has suggested that Rosenau’s use of the untested vaccine possibly could have caused the deaths of several patients.

Angel Island
After accomplishing his work at Camp Jenner, Rosenau relocated to California to work as an assistant surgeon at the Angel Island. He stayed in this role for two years. In 1898, Rosenau left to take on various roles, including serving as the Director of the National Hygienics Laboratory, and as a quarantine officer at the Philippine Islands and Santiago. Finally, in 1901, he succeeded Dr. Joseph Kinyoun as the director of the Hygienic Laboratory at the Angel Island. In this role, Rosenau studied the quality of various vaccines being sold on the market, and found a significant variation in terms of their purity. This led him to publish an widely read report, that influenced many physicians and members of the public to call for more government supervision in the manufacturing of vaccines.

Later Life
Rosenau left the Hygienics Laboratory at Angel Island to take on a position as Professor at Harvard University. During his time there, he helped establish the Harvard and Massachusetts School for Health Officers. He also became the president of the Society of American Bacteriologists in 1934, and later, the president of the American Public Health Association in 1944. Rosenau Passed away in 1946. His records are kept at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he has a building in his name.