Historic Humanist Series

Anton J. Carlson was the first to receive the American Humanist Association's Humanist of the Year award. The award, made in 1953, recognized his humanism and contributions to education, scientific research, and professional work. He received the American Medical Association's Service Gold Medal the same year. Dr. Carlson was among those to sign the Humanist Manifesto I.

Dr. Carlson was a physiology professor at the University of Chicago and president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. His important services included work as a consultant to the US Food and Drug Administration. His research on diabetes led to the use of insulin. He also contributed to the understanding of alcoholism and human aging. Dr. Carlson'smajor books include the Machinery of the Body, with Victor Johnson, and The Control of Hunger and Disease.

Herman J. Muller noted that Dr. Carlson had the integrity to speak his mind. Said Dr. Carlson, "The supernatural has no support in science, is incompatible with science, (and) is frequently an active foe of science. It is unnecessary for the good life." Born in Sweden in 1875, Dr. Carlson died September 1956.

--Mildred McCallister
Humanist of the Year Book