Joseph Erlanger

Physiologist and administrator, born in San Francisco, California, USA. He was an instructor at Johns Hopkins (1900–6), then moved to the University of Wisconsin (1906–10), where he performed experiments on intracardiac nerve impulses. He joined Washington University (St Louis) (1910–46), where he reorganized its medical school and brought the university to scientific prominence. With former student Herbert Gasser, he modified the cathode-ray oscilloscope to facilitate the two scientists' research on electrophysiology of the nervous system, and they shared the 1944 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for their work on nerve impulse transmission. Erlanger continued to publish research papers and accounts of the history of physiology after his retirement.