Philip Showalter Hench

Philip Showalter Hench
Hench in 1950
Born	(1896-02-28)February 28, 1896 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Died	March 30, 1965(1965-03-30) (aged 69) Ocho Rios, Jamaica
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Lafayette College University of Pittsburgh
Known for	Discovery of cortisone
Awards	Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1950)
Scientific career
Fields	Medicine
Institutions	Mayo Clinic
Signature

Philip Showalter Hench (February 28, 1896 – March 30, 1965^[1]) was an American physician. Hench, along with his Mayo Clinic co-worker Edward Calvin Kendall and Swiss chemist Tadeus Reichstein was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1950 for the discovery of the hormone cortisone, and its application for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. The Nobel Committee bestowed the award for the trio's "discoveries relating to the hormones of the adrenal cortex, their structure and biological effects."^[2]

Hench received his undergraduate education at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, and received his medical training at the United States Army Medical Corps and the University of Pittsburgh. He began working at Mayo Clinic in 1923, later serving as the head of the Department of Rheumatology. In addition to the Nobel Prize, Hench received many other awards and honors throughout his career. He also had a lifelong interest in the history and discovery of yellow fever.