Dr. William Frankland was a pioneering allergist who popularized pollen count reporting and helped develop the science behind allergy shots.
- Died: April 2, 2020 (Who else died on April 2?)
- Details of death: Died of coronavirus in London at the age of 108.
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Blazing a trail for allergy sufferers
Frankland himself suffered from hay fever, though he didn’t always intend to become an allergist – when he first became a doctor, he specialized in venereal disease but hoped to become a dermatologist. Instead, he worked under Alexander Fleming, who discovered penicillin, and then began experimenting with the concept of allergen immunotherapy, in which a small dose of an allergen is given to the patient regularly, so the system becomes desensitized to the allergen. Frankland experimented on himself, allowing a tropical insect to bite him each day. The experiment was successful despite Frankland going into life-threatening anaphylactic shock while working on it, and it helped lead to the development of allergy shots, which control allergies via allergen immunotherapy.
Frankland also popularized reporting on the pollen count to help allergy sufferers track their seasonal allergies. He studied pollen in the air and in his “Pollen farm,” where he grew grasses and other allergen producers, and reported his findings to both his patients and the British media. Today, the pollen count is a staple of many weather reports. Frankland continued working throughout his long life, publishing a scientific paper in 2019.
Frankland on his longevity
“So often, people say, ‘How is that you’ve lived so long?’ And I say, ‘That’s just luck, nothing else.’” —from a 2018 interview with CNN
What people said about him
Full obituary: Washington Post
