Milford chronicle., 1953-08-21
Famed Scientist Gives
Views On Long Life

PEARL RIVER, N. Y.-Dr. Benia-
min Minge Duggar, discoverer Of the
wonder drug" aureomycin, says
that his philosophy for a long satis-
tying life is: Keep active, mem
tally and physically"
He will be 81 years old Septem-
her 1st.
DR.. Duggar practices what he
breaches. At an age when most men
would be content to sit in the shade
and reminisce, this famed scientist
still carries on. a full-time research
program.
He also finds time to have a
small vegetable garden every sum-
INCREASING tomatoes, corn, Okra
and lettuce-and to play an Occa-
sional round Of golf. He also fishes
and, in the winter he gets in some
bowling.
DR.. Duggar is not a physical
superman. He stands about five
feet-five inches and constantly
weighs 122 pounds.
AG 0L0A VI AAOW fkLAA0 AlA0U kdlllEu
worldwide prominence is one of the
most dramatic stories of our time.
In 1943, at the age OF II. he was
forced by state law to rGire from
the University Wisconsin, where he
taught botany. Not content to sit
in the shade and hold his hands, Dr.
Duggar. came to Lederle LabOra-
tories and began searching for an
antihiOtic that would be more
effective than penicillin.
DR.. Duggar worked three years
with teams of chemists, bacteriOlO-
gists, pharmacologists and other
scientists, culturing thousands of
earth mOlds, before the golden
wonder drug" aureomycin was
isolated and developed for CONNER
cial production. he antibiotic was
put on the market in 1948, when
DR.. Duggar was 76.
But his scientific endeavors did
not stop there. He is still working
with mysterious mOlds which live in
the earth, hoping to find another
antibiOtic which will be even more
beneficial than aureOmycin.
DR.. Duggar was born in 1872, at
Gallon, Alabama, son of a country
doctor. There we're five boys. One
brother is still living (79), and the
others, two of whom were older than
the scientist, died in recent years.
DR.. Duggar's father lived to 80 and
his mother to 79.
He recalls that he was riding
horse at the age of four. He has
never been seriously i'll. and even
escaped many of the usual child
hood diseases.
Does he smoke? Yes, a pipe i
but with moderation. He also has an
occasional brandy or highball.
Moderation is wonderful
thing" he advises. Work and play
with moderation"
Does he ever plan to retire? He
says he does, but most of his associ-
ates take this with a grain Of salt,
for DR.. Duggar is a man with an
Unsuitable curiosity about things
scientific.
What could keep a man working
at his age? DR.. Duggar sincerely |
hopes that he can make another
substantial contribution to medical
science.
also, I love my work" he says,
"and that's very important I get a
great personal satisfaction from
scientific accomplishment"
DR.. Duggar feels strongly that
there is a wonderful future in the
field Of scientific research for young
people who have the interest and
talent. Industrial laboratories, he
says, are opening up vast new
horizens that were unknown to the
college researcher years ago.
"We now have real teamwork"
he explains. "The colleges and
universities constitute our principal
reservoir of scientific talent; the
industrial laboratories can supply
the development knOw-hOw, the
money and the sales. Together these
two great scientific interests should
carry us to magnificent new dis
coveries which will make life