RE: First radiation victim

["Gibbs, S J" <s.julian.gibbs@vanderbilt.edu>]

In a paper by Art Upton titled "Cancer Research 1964: Thoughts on the 

Contributions of Radiation Biology" published (I think) in Cancer Research, 

Upton describes John Dally, who was Thomas Edison's laboratory assistant, as 

the first victim of radiation-induced cancer.  It seems that Edison was 

exploring fluorescent materials as sources of light from electricity via x 

rays.  Mr. Dally apparently held the materials in the beam.  He soon got 

radiodermatitis on both hands, and the experiments were stopped.  However, his 

dermatitis progressed to cancer.  He subsequently had both hands and then both 

arms amputated.  He died of disseminated metastatic disease in 1904--I believe.



The first report of injury from a diagnostic x-ray procedure was William 

Dudley, who was Dean of Vanderbilt Medical School at the time of Roentgen's 

discovery.  On reading Roentgen's paper, one John Daniel in the Vanderbilt 

Physics Department quickly assembled the apparatus and his first attempt at a 

human image occurred on Feb. 29, 1896, with Dean Dudley as his willing 

volunteer.  The incident was reported in Science in April, 1896.  The following 

report comes from that paper and archives of the Vanderbilt Physics 

Department.  Daniel taped the plate to one side of Dean Dudley's head and 

positioned the Crookes tube as close to the other side as possible without 

touching him (he was concerned about a spark from the exposed high-voltage 

cables).  The exposure for the lateral skull plate was one hour.  The plate was 

underpenetrated, showing little image, and has been lost.  Three weeks later, 

Dean Dudley's hair (on the tube side) began to fall out.  Daniel concluded his 

paper with (paraphrased) "We--and especially Dr. Dudley--are watching the 

situation very closely."



Dudley was an interesting person.  He was a member of the committee that formed 

the NCAA.  The Vanderbilt football stadium is Dudley Stadium, named for him.



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Gibbs, S J

Vanderbilt University

Email: s.julian.gibbs@Vanderbilt.Edu

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