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IN MEMORIAM
CHARLES ELY LANKFORD
Dr. Charles E. Lankford, professor emeritus
of microbiology at The University of Texas at Austin, died on August
10, 1989. He had been retired since 1978. A highly respected scientist
and dedicated teacher, Dr. Lankford influenced the lives and careers
of his many students and associates.
Born in DeValls Bluffs, Arkansas, he
received his high school education in Cisco, Texas, and a BA degree
in bacteriology from The University of Texas at Austin in 1935. After
a year with the Texas State Department of Health, he began graduate
studies. Between 1936 and 1948, he conducted research at The University
of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and at UT Austin, working in the
Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology and of Bacteriology. During
those years he taught bacteriology and held the ranks of teaching assistant,
assistant professor, and associate professor. He received an MA degree
in 1943, and a PhD in 1948, both under the supervision of Dr. O. B.
Williams of UT Austin.
In 1942, Charles married Mary E. Baker
Darnell. In 1949 he accepted an invitation to join the UT Austin faculty
as associate professor of bacteriology. This provided an opportunity
for him to do research with Professor V. T. Schuhardt and Dr. L. J.
Rode in the Brucellosis Research Laboratory. In 1952, Charles became
interested in the bacterium which causes cholera, Vibrio cholerae.
He did research on cholera in Calcutta in 1953 with Professor William
Burrows of the University of Chicago. He was promoted to professor at
UT Austin in 1955. Dr. and Mrs. Lankford returned to the Far East in
1957 and stayed until 1959. Dr. Lankford taught at Chulalongkorn University
Medical School in Bangkok, Thailand. His research work during a cholera
epidemic received international recognition.
During his 42 years of service to UT,
Dr. Lankford authored more than 40 scientific publications dealing with
microbiological problems ranging from gonorrhea to brucellosis and cholera,
fields in which he was internationally famous. He was interested also
in microbial metabolism, specifically focusing on the roles of iron.
He was coauthor of three microbiology laboratory manuals. Teaching both
graduate and undergraduate students (courses in general microbiology,
public health microbiology, and medical microbiology) absorbed much
of his time and interest. He attracted excellent students to his laboratory
and supervised 44 master's theses and 21 doctoral dissertations. Areas
of special interest to him were the competition between the invading
organism and the host for the essential nutrient iron, the mechanism
by which the cholera organism causes disease, the mechanism by which
the gonorrhea organism evades the human defense mechanisms, and the
bacterial requirement for the nutrient iron.
A charter member of the Texas Branch
of the Society of American Bacteriologists (now American Society for
Microbiology), Dr. Lankford served in all its offices and was given
its Distinguished Service Award in 1975. Dr. Lankford was a member of
numerous professional societies and organizations and a Fellow of the
American Academy of Microbiology. Dedicated to public service and education
about infectious diseases, Dr. Lankford served from 1955 to 1967 on
the Travis County Tuberculosis Association board of directors.
A memorial service was attended by some
of Dr. Lankford's students, his students' students, and even third generation
students. Among the tributes at the service, Dr. James R. Walker, chairman
of the UT microbiology department and one of Dr. Lankford's former doctoral
students, listed Lankford's educational background and his contributions
to research and said that "all these remarkable accomplishments were
done in a quiet, unassuming, modest way. He was also a wise man and
a gentle man."
Dr. L. Lee Lankford, an orthopedic surgeon
in Dallas and brother of Dr. Charles Lankford, described with affection
Charlie's role as husband, father, and brother.
Dr. Richard A. Finkelstein, chairman
of the Department of Microbiology at the University of Missouri School
of Medicine, said of his mentor:
"Charlie was more than just an outstanding
scientist. He was a gentle man in the finest sense. I have never
known a person who was more at one with himself. He was a considerate,
dedicated, patient and inspiring teacher, a role model who has influenced,
positively, the many students who had the privilege of being his
graduate students and the many more at the undergraduate level in
whom he had an equal interest. As a scientist, Charlie had a gift
for creativity. Most of us are happy to have one bright conception
in our careers. Charles had many which opened the doors to new fields
of investigation. Coupled with this gift of intuition, he was a
keen observer; an avid and retentive reader; he was careful and
meticulous in his design of experiments; he was a scholar who did
science for its own sake, not to impress others; and, in his modest
way, he communicated these attributes to his students."
Dr. B. Roe Byers, former doctoral student
of Dr. Lankford and currently professor of microbiology at the University
of Mississippi Medical School, described some of his most significant
scientific contributions:
"About 25 to 30 years ago, Professor
Charles Lankford was a pioneer in research on the process of microbial
iron acquisition and the critical participation of certain small
iron-binding microbially-produced substances, called siderophores,
in the process (although at the time the substances were not called
siderophores–he assigned the name later). He may have been
the pioneer. Regardless, at that time he was one of the two
or three persons in the world who clearly understood the importance
of siderophores and the role of iron in the outcome of many biological
interactions, especially the host-parasite competition that can
cause human and animal diseases."
Dr. Riley D. Housewright, past president
of the American Society for Microbiology, sent the following personal
insights about his longtime friend:
"Charlie was a quiet and private
person. His modest demeanor did not adequately reflect his powerful
scientific knowledge. Still, he was easily approachable by those
who asked and received his thoughtful advice. He was an excellent
reader and a creative scientist. His impact on bacteriology is well
known here, but it extended well beyond The University of Texas
campus. He made substantial contributions through the national and
Texas branches of the American Society for Microbiology, and internationally
by his work in Bangkok, Thailand, and India."
<signed>
Larry R. Faulkner,
President
The University of Texas at Austin
<signed>
John R. Durbin, Secretary
The General Faculty
This memorial resolution was prepared by a special committee consisting
of Professors James R. Walker (chair) and Charles F. Earhart.
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