Distinguished Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and U. S. Bureau of Animal Industry Chief.
1862-1917 | Artist: Robert Wadsworth Grafton (1876-1936)
Impact & Accomplishments
One of the five veterinarians inducted into the Saddle & Sirloin Club in the 1918 American Veterinary Medical Association group, Alonzo Melvin graduated from Chicago Veterinary College in 1886 and immediately went to work for the U. S. Bureau of Animal Industry.
His first work was to eradicate pleuropneumonia in cattle. During his years of service, he spent time in Liverpool, England, monitoring livestock exports to the United States; he oversaw federal meat inspection in Chicago; and he led the industry through two outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease. Dr. Melvin rose to chief of the Inspection Division (1895), assistant chief of the Bureau (1899), and then, in 1905, he succeeded Dr. Salmon as Bureau chief.
Elected president of the American Veterinary Medical Association in 1909, he was an honorary associate of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in London, England, and a member of the advisory board of the Hygienic Laboratory, U. S. Public Health Service.
Did You Know?
Dr. Melvin rose to chief of the Inspection Division (1895), assistant chief of the Bureau (1899), and then, in 1905, he succeeded Dr. Salmon as Bureau chief.
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