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The surgeon general of the United States is a physician who acts as the nation's spokesperson on public health matters. Appointed by the president with Senate approval for a four-year term of office, the surgeon general educates the president and the secretary of health and human services on critical medical issues and health policy. The surgeon general also advocates for effective disease-prevention and health-promotion programs for the general public.
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John M. Woodworth
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1871-1879
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Head of the Marine Hospital Service, a precursor of the United States Public Health Service.
Reformed a loose network of locally controlled hospitals into a centrally controlled service based in Washington, D.C.
Adopted a military model for his medical staff, organizing the staff into mobile, career-service physicians who could be assigned as needed to any marine hospital.
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John B. Hamilton
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1879-1891
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Gained federal authority for the Marine Hospital Service to create quarantines on sea and land, removing quarantine functions from individual states.
Established the Hygienic Laboratory, a laboratory devoted to bacteriology.
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Walter Wyman
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1891-1911
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Directed the Hygienic Laboratory to expand its research activities to include diseases caused by organisms other than bacteria, such as hookworm, and the laboratory became responsible for the regulation of biological products, including vaccines and antitoxins.
Authorized a nationwide study of the prevalence of leprosy in 1901 and helped establish a leprosy hospital and laboratory in Hawaii.
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Rupert Blue
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1912-1920
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Broadened the responsibilities of the Hygienic Laboratory to include water pollution's contribution to disease.
Advanced the field of public health by utilizing the latest advances in bacteriology, sanitation practices, and public education to effectively reduce or eliminate a number of diseases linked to poverty in both rural and urban areas, including tularemia, hookworm, pellagra, typhoid fever, and trachoma.
During World War I, in response to the mobilization of troops around the country, built sanitary privies and established venereal disease control programs for troops and industrial hygiene and health services for war-plant laborers.
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Hugh S. Cumming
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1920-1936
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Established a national leprosy hospital in Carville, Louisiana, in 1921. The hospital became a leading center for leprosy treatment and research.
In 1925 inaugurated a program in which prospective immigrants to the United States were given a medical inspection in their country of origin, reducing the number of immigrants who were prevented from entering the United States for medical reasons after making the trip to this country.
Initiated the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment in 1930, which studied the health effects of untreated syphilis in African American males, a program that was belatedly declared unethical and finally halted in 1973.
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Thomas Parran, Jr.
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1936-1948
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Directed a syphilis control campaign to identify and treat syphilis, employing the new sulfa drugs and, later, penicillin. In 1937 he published a book about syphilis called Shadow on the Land.
Encouraged the development of new government research institutions in cancer, mental health, tuberculosis control, and the prevention of malaria and other communicable diseases.
Played a critical role in international health affairs, serving as one of the authors of the constitution of the World Health Organization.
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Leonard A. Scheele
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1948-1956
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Elevated the role of the surgeon general to a national spokesperson for health in 1951 by issuing a public recommendation for nationwide water fluoridation.
In 1955 outbreaks of polio occurred following a government-sanctioned vaccination campaign. Scheele immediately ordered a recall of vaccines produced by one of the polio vaccine manufacturers. He then created a new Poliomyelitis Surveillance Unit to evaluate the quality and safety of polio vaccines and he instigated a national system for reporting and compiling new polio cases from the states.
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Leroy E. Burney
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1956-1961
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In 1957 became the first government official to publicly identify cigarette smoke as a cause of lung cancer.
Developed a number of investigatory and advisory bodies whose annual reports still inform policy decision-making, including the Surgeon General's Consultant Group on Medical Education, the Surgeon General's Report on Environmental Health Problems, and the Study Group on the Mission and Organization of the Public Health Service.
Directed the first national survey of chronic disease, morbidity, and health services.
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Luther L. Terry
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1961-1965
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Established the Surgeon General's Advisory Committee on Smoking and Health in 1964. This committee produced a landmark report concluding that cigarette smoking causes lung cancer and chronic bronchitis and may also be linked to other illnesses such as emphysema, cardiovascular disease, and various types of cancer.
Directed a national antismoking campaign that led to the passage of the Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act of 1965, which mandated that the surgeon general's health warnings appear on cigarette packages.
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William H. Stewart
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1965-1969
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Advocated for improved delivery of health services and third-party reimbursement, in which an insurance company pays its clients a percentage of all health-care bills.
Directed the high-profile and critical task of certifying the nation's hospitals for compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, to ensure that these public facilities did not discriminate against any person based on their sex, race, or religion.
Directed the July 1966 implementation of Medicare reimbursement for health services.
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Jesse L. Steinfeld
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1969-1973
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Established the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the National Health Service Corps.
Countered efforts to close the Office of the Surgeon General by rallying support from Congress to prevent its closing and expand its responsibilities.
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Julius B. Richmond
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1977-1981
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Established community health centers to improve the delivery of health services.
Initiated a successful immunization campaign focusing on measles and other childhood diseases that disproportionately affect the poor.
Devised and implemented quantitative goals for public health, first published in 1979 as Healthy People: The Surgeon General's Report on Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. This report helped journalists, health departments, and others to educate people on how they could take more personal responsibility for their health through wise lifestyle choices.
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C. Everett Koop
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1982-1989
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Reinvigorated a national antismoking campaign, demanding stronger warning labels on cigarette packages, smoke-free workplaces, and criticizing tobacco exports to poor nations.
Acted as primary government spokesperson on acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), becoming one of the first public figures to treat the disease as a public health problem rather than a moral issue. In 1988 Koop wrote 'Understanding AIDS,' a brochure that was mailed to 107 million households in the United States, the largest public health mailing ever performed.
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Antonia C. Novello
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1990-1993
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First female and first Hispanic surgeon general.
Promoted childhood immunization and injury prevention efforts and programs that discourage underage drinking and tobacco use by young people.
Publicly criticized the powerful tobacco industry for appealing to the youth market through the use of cartoon characters such as 'Joe Camel.'
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M. Joycelyn Elders
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1993-1994
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First African American to serve as surgeon general.
Forcefully campaigned for universal health coverage and acted as a spokesperson for President Bill Clinton's health-care reform effort.
Outspoken in her views advocating comprehensive health education, including sex education, in schools, Elders was forced to resign as surgeon general after only 15 months in the position as a result of a controversial remark she made about sex education.
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David Satcher
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1998-2002
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Served as both surgeon general and assistant secretary for health in the U.S. Health and Human Services Department.
Advocated for improved prenatal care; recognition of mental health as an essential part of overall health; increased exercise in all phases of life; elimination of teen smoking; and eradication of racially based disparities in medical treatment and disease.
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Richard H. Carmona
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2002-2006
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With extensive experience in military and police operations, emergency preparedness, and search and rescue operations, Carmona worked extensively with communities to help them prepare for large-scale emergencies. He also educated Americans about ways to prevent illness, helps minority populations gain better access to health care, and promoted cultural sensitivity in health education.
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Kenneth P. Moritsugu
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2006-
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Rear Admiral Kenneth P. Moritsugu, M.D., M.P.H., is the current Acting Surgeon General, following resignation of Richard Carmona at the conclusion of his term. Dr. Moritsugu has filled the position of Deputy Surgeon General of the United States since October 1, 1998, and previously served as the Acting Surgeon General from February to August 2002.
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