Faces of AAUW

Helen Claudia Henry & Jonas Salk

Under-Acknowledged Heroes of STEM History

I feel I must apologize, but I am sure you will understand that life for us has been exceptionally hectic.

Jonas Salk correspondence about Helen Claudia Henry's AAUW Fellowship, delayed due to discovery of polio vaccine

Salk’s Letters Confirming Henry’s Fellowship

Thanks to the team’s discovery, polio cases have rapidly declined and have even been eradicated in some countries. Since 1979, the U.S. has been polio-free. The vaccine used today is the same one that Salk developed in a lab 60 years ago. The year Helen Claudia Henry was awarded an AAUW fellowship, fear of polio was widespread—severe cases of polio can lead to permanent paralysis or death. The disease hit its peak infection rate during the late 1940s and early 1950s, when more than 35,000 cases were reported.

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