Dr. Jonas Salk was an American medical researcher, physician, and virologist who developed the first safe and effective inactivated polio vaccine. Before this vaccine was created, polio vaccines usually contained live, weakened forms of the virus, but Salk developed a vaccine that contained an inactivated, dead form of polio, the first of its kind. Until the introduction of the Salk vaccine on April 12, 1955, polio was considered the most daunting health problem in the United States. Just 3 years before the vaccine was released, nearly 58,000 cases had been reported, with 3,145 deaths and 21,269 paralyzed. Most of the victims were children, leaving them scarred for the rest of their lives, which, depending on how badly they were affected, was not long. For this reason, scientists were frantic to find a way to cure or at least prevent the disease, with the massive support of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the world's most recognized victim. Thanks to Dr. Salk, the people of the United States, and the world, were able to stop worrying, at least about something. Jonas Edward Salk was born on October 28, 1914 in New York City. His parents came from Jewish immigrant families and never received a full education, but like most parents, they wanted better for their children and were determined to see them succeed. When Salk was 13, he attended Townsend Harris High School, a public school for gifted children, where students had to learn a four-year curriculum in three years. As a result, most graduating students would have the grades needed to enroll in the City College of New York, known to be a highly competitive college. That's exactly what Salk did, entering CCNY when he was 15 and earning a Bachelor of Science degree in 1934. Then he entered Ne... middle of paper... he had lived a full life before he died. of heart failure on June 23, 1995, at the age of 80. He had developed, among other things, a vaccine against polio. He was devoted to his project, especially after his daughter, a mother of five, revealed she had polio. Although the vaccine had problems and a better oral vaccine was created by Albert Sabin, Salk had earned his place in medical history with his groundbreaking research as the man who stopped polio. Works Cited Jonas Salk Biography. [Internet]. 2014. The website biography.com. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/jonas-salk-9470147. Jonas Salk. [Internet]. 2014. The wikipedia.org website. Available from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonas_Salk. Jonas Salk Biography. [Internet]. 2014. The notablebiographies.com website. Available from: http://www.notablebiographies.com/Ro-Sc/Salk-Jonas.html.