Frederick F . Russell Brigadier General Frederick Fuller Russell ( 1870 , Auburn , New York , USA – December 29 , 1960 ) was a U . S . Army physician who perfected a typhoid vaccine in 1909 . In 1911 , a typhoid vaccination program was carried out to have the entire U . S . Army immunized . As a direct result of his research , the U . S . Army was the first military to make vaccination a required prophylaxis against typhoid . The 1911 measure eliminated typhoid as a significant cause of morbidity and mortality among U . S . military personnel . Biography . After graduating from Cornell University in 1891 , Russell received his Doctor of Medicine from Columbia University in 1893 and his Doctor of Science from George Washington University in 1917 . In 1898 , he was commissioned as first lieutenant in the Medical Corps of the U . S . Army . It was during his time as a Medical Corps officer that he began his research into the inoculation of soldiers against typhoid . In 1908 , Surgeon General O ' Reilly sent Russell to England to observe the work of Sir Almorth Wright , Professor at the Royal Army Medical College , who had been experimenting with a method of prophylaxis with killed culture of typhoid organisms to immunize against the disease . Upon Russell ' s return , he submitted a report on Wright ' s research , which O ' Reilly considered " a very valuable treatise on the epidemiology of this disease " . He conducted trials at the Army Medical Museum comparing the efficasy of both an orally administered and an injected vaccine . He packed the vaccine in small single dosage using small glass ampoules which , unlike the 1 liter flasks used in the United Kingdom , ensured that all of the typhoid micro - organisms were killed . As a result of the report , Russell was assigned the duty of implementing an immunization program within the U . S . Army . In 1910 he inoculated his first group of volunteers and by 1911 vaccination became compulsory . From a morbidity of 173 cases in 1910 , Russell was able to reduce the total to nine cases in 1912 with only one death . During his career he served as curator of the Army Medical Museum from 1907 - 1911 , instructor in the Army Medical School , and professor of pathology and bacteriology at George Washington University . In addition , he served on various investigating boards , one of which he was able to advise and offer technical counsel to Major Carl Darnall in the development of a water filter for field use and the first water chlorinator using gaseous chlorine . After his resignation from the Army in 1921 , Russell returned to the rolls as a reserve officer and in November 1920 was appointed Brigadier General of the Medical Officers Reserve Corps . Following his military career he served as the director of the International Health Board of the Rockefeller Foundation . As director , Russell continued his research into public health focusing on diseases such as yellow fever . In 1935 he was awarded the Public Welfare Medal from the National Academy of Sciences . He spent the final years ( 1936 – 39 ) of his career in medical science and administration as professor of epidemiology and preventive medicine at Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health .