On this day in Labor History the year was 1906.
That was the day that Dr. Harriet Louise Hardy was born in Arlington, Massachusetts.
She pursued a career in medicine, driven by personal family tragedy.
She lost her father to pneumonia when she was only four years old.
She also lost a baby brother to the 1918 influenza outbreak.
Dr. Hardy became an early leader in the field of occupational medicine.
She was also the first woman to become a full professor at Harvard medical School.
Dr. Hardy began her career in occupational medicine when she began to investigate the causes of illness among workers making fluorescent lights in factories north of Boston.
Most of these workers were women.
Dr. Hardy researched the cases of berylliosis in Lynn and Salem Massachusetts.
The metal beryllium is used in making the lights.
Inhaling dust or fumes of the metal can be deadly, but symptoms often do not begin to show up until years after exposure.
Symptoms include shortness of breath, coughing and scarred lungs.
Dr. Hardy developed the National Beryllium Registry.
It was one of the first registries of its kind to track the impact of a chronic health disorder.
Her research helped lead to safety measures in the handling of this dangerous metal.
Dr. Hardy also worked with unions including the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Union and The United Mine Workers to identify and address workplace health hazards.
These included substances like lead, mercury, anthrax and asbestos.
She wrote a textbook on the subject of industrial toxicology, with another pioneer in the field of occupational health, Dr. Alice Hamilton.
Dr. Hardy helped to forge new ground in making jobsites more safe and healthy for workers.
April 28 - OSHA Goes Into Effect
April 27 - Disaster in West Virginia
April 26 - National Guard Ousts Montgomery Ward CEO
April 25 - UAW Mobilizes Against Taft-Hartley
April 24 - The California Spinach Riot
April 23 - Sitting Down for Dignity at Ford
April 22 - The Red Jacket Mine Explosion
April 21 - The Hated Taylor Law Takes Effect
April 20 - Deepwater Horizon Explosion Kills 11
April 19 -The Daughters of Mother Jones
April 18 - We Have Fed You All A thousand Years
April 17 - Fatal Explosion in West, Texas
April 16 - Jacob Coxey is Born
April 15 - Telephone Girls Cripple New England Bell
April 14 - A Job or Be Sterilized
April 13 - The Colfax Massacre
April 12 - The Wagner Act Stands
April 11 - Fed Up Transit Workers Walk Out
April 10 - Explosion at Eddystone
April 9 - Lee Surrenders to Grant
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Regenerative Skills
The Meaningful Life with Andrew G. Marshall
The No-Frills Teacher Podcast
The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast
The Mel Robbins Podcast