Wright, James F. (James Francis), 1921-2012

James Francis Wright was born in Philadelphia in 1924 and died on January 10, 2008 of a heart attack. He was 83 years old.

Dr. Wright graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1951. Following graduation, Dr. Wright practiced mixed animal medicine in Lawrenceville, N.J., for two years. In 1979, Dr. Wright was awarded the USPHS Commendation Medal. Also, he served in the Army Air Corps during World War II in the Pacific Theatre.

In the early 1980s, Dr. Wright began teaching at N.C. State University. Later he served on the veterinary faculty of N. C. State University first as visiting associate professor and later as adjunct associate professor in the Department of Microbiology, Parasitology, and Pathology at the College of Veterinary Medicine. From 1984-2004, Dr. Wright was the North Carolina Zoo's pathologist where he served as a pathologist and consulting clinical veterinarian at the North Carolina Zoological Park in Asheboro.

Before working at N.C. State, Dr. Wright held several jobs. He worked in Reston, Va., at the federal Environmental Protection Agency. In the 1950s, he also worked as veterinarian-in-charge at the Department of Agriculture's Animal Disease Laboratory on Plum Island in New York. Soon after, from 1957-1962, he became the head veterinarian at the National Zoo in Washington. He later worked at the EPA where he researched the effects of environmental stress on animals.

Dr. Wright is also credited for his help in establishing a national zoo in Senegal, Africa, helping to refine the original dart gun and developing anesthetics in appropriate doses to be used as the tranquilizing agent.

Wright was a member of the North Carolina VMA, American Association of Zoo Veterinarians, Wildlife Disease Association, American Association for Laboratory Animal Science, Society of Toxicologic Pathologists, and American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums.

Dr. Wright was married to his wife Helen. They had four children; two sons and two daughters.

From the guide to the James F. Wright Papers, 1955-1970, (Special Collections Research Center)