Hunt, Reid, 1870-1948

Hunt (Maryland, M.D. 1896) was a pharmacologist who had extensive laboratory training as a student and early in his career. He taught at Johns Hopkins from 1898 to 1904 and spent time with Paul Ehrlich in Frankfort in 1902-1903. From 1904 to 1913 he was chief of the Division of Pharmacology of the U.S. Public Health Service. In 1913 he went to Harvard Medical School as professor of pharmacology; he retired in 1936. His research concerned aspects of the autonomic nervous system (he discovered the action of acetylcholine), of thyroid gland functioning (measurement by iodine contents), and toxicity studies, notably with methyl alcohol and the arsphenamines. Hunt was very involved in revision of standards for pharmaceuticals; he continually served on national committees from 1906 to 1936.

Hunt graduated from Harvard in 1894 and taught pharmacology at Harvard.