Leila Alice Denmark was an American pediatrician in Atlanta, Georgia.
24 Facts About Leila Denmark
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Leila Denmark was the world's oldest practicing pediatrician until her retirement in May 2001 at the age of 103, after 73 years.
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Leila Denmark was a supercentenarian, living to the age of 114 years, 60 days.
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Leila Denmark was the older sister of Clyde Daughtry, who is known for shooting the only known authentic color footage of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
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Leila Denmark attended Tift College in Forsyth, Georgia, where she trained to be a teacher.
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Leila Denmark studied chemistry and physics at Mercer University in Macon.
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Leila Denmark decided to attend medical school when her fiance John Eustace Denmark was posted to Java, Dutch Indies, by the United States Department of State, as no wives were allowed to accompany their spouses to that post.
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John Eustace Leila Denmark had returned from his overseas assignment and they married on June 11,1928, soon after she received her medical diploma.
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Leila Denmark was a registered Democrat and a practicing Baptist.
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Leila Denmark accepted a residency at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, and moved to the Virginia-Highland neighborhood with her husband.
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Leila Denmark was the first physician on staff when Henrietta Egleston Hospital, a pediatric hospital, opened on the Emory University campus.
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Leila Denmark developed a private practice, seeing patients in a clinic at her home.
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Leila Denmark devoted a substantial amount of her professional time to charity.
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Leila Denmark conducted research from the 1930s, and especially from 1933 to 1944 in the diagnosis, treatment, and immunization of whooping cough, then frequently fatal to children.
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Leila Denmark is credited as co-developer of the pertussis vaccine, with support from Eli Lilly and Company, and Emory University.
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Leila Denmark discussed her views on child-rearing in her book Every Child Should Have a Chance.
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Leila Denmark was among the first doctors to object to adults smoking cigarettes around children, and to pregnant women using drugs.
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Leila Denmark recommended that children and adults should eat fresh fruit rather than drinking fruit juices, and drink only water.
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Leila Denmark later retired in 2002 because her eyesight was getting too weak for more involved tasks, such as examining children's throats.
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Leila Denmark lived independently in her Cumming, Georgia home until age 106.
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Leila Denmark moved to Athens, Georgia to live with her only child, Mary Hutcherson.
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On February 1,2008, Leila Denmark celebrated her 110th birthday, becoming a supercentenarian.
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Leila Denmark died in 2012 at the age of 114 and 2 months.
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Leila Denmark was one of the few supercentenarians notable for something other than their longevity.