Deaf Scientist Corner

Anthony Hajna
Anthony Hajna was born in Chicopee, Massachusetts on March 21, 1907. He went to school at the Mystic Oral School for the Deaf. When he graduated he worked at the school for a few years.
Picture Courtesy of Johns Hopkins University	Then he decided to go to Gallaudet College. He graduated in 1930. He wanted to continue school. He went to Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health. While he was a student he wrote many papers about bacteria that spread from person to person quickly. He graduated with a Master's degree in Hygiene.
After graduation he started working at the Maryland State Department of Health. He was the assistant bacteriologist. He studied the kind of bacteria that causes typhoid fever. He discovered how to figure out what it was faster. He also discovered how to take it out of the animal or person that had it in their body. He had this job for seventeen years.	Picture Courtesy of Texas A&M University
Picture Courtesy of Radio-Tech News	He went through a few jobs quickly after this. After working for several different places he became the head of bacteriologist at the Indiana State Board of Health. He studied bacteria that spread easily. This is called epidemic-type bacteria. He had special interest in bacteria in food and water.
He wrote many articles on his research. He was on the "Laboratory Digest" Editorial Board. Many of his articles were published in this journal . He did a lot of work with the military. Most of his writings were about laboratory techniques that can help bacteriologists identify different kinds of bacteria faster.	Picture Courtesy of the Laboratory Digest
	Mr. Hajna was very involved with the Deaf community. He talked with students a lot about becoming scientists. He encouraged deaf people to become scientists. He was also a good leader. He was the president of the Baltimore Nation Fraternal Society of the Deaf, the Indianapolis Gallaudet College Alumni Association, and the Indiana Association of the Deaf.
Mr. Hajna died on March 14, 1992.
Awards: Indiana State Achievement Award Honorary doctorate from Gallaudet	Memberships: American Society for Microbiology American Public Health Association New York Academy of Sciences American Association for the Advancement of Sciences
Web Links http://deafscientistcorner.pbworks.com/Anthony+Hajna References Lang, H. G., & Meath-Lang, B. (1995). Anthony Hajna. In A Biographical Dictionary: Deaf Persons in the Arts and Sciences (pp.166-168). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.