William Taliaferro Close was an American surgeon who played a major role in stemming a 1976 outbreak of the Ebola virus in Zaire, the first major outbreak of the viral hemorrhagic fever in Central Africa, and preventing its further spread.
16 Facts About William Close
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William Close was the father of Oscar-nominated actress Glenn Close and husband of Bettine Moore Close.
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William Close was born in Greenwich, Connecticut, on June 7,1924, minutes after his twin brother Edward Jr.
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William Close's parents were Elizabeth and Edward Bennett Close, an attorney; his mother was a member of the Taliaferro family, one of the First Families of Virginia.
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William Close served as the personal pilot and interpreter for General Joseph Harper.
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William Close met and befriended a young Congolese soldier named Mobutu, and after Mobutu became president, he agreed to run the 1,500-bed Mama Yemo Hospital named in honor of Mobutu's mother, in the capital city of Kinshasa, Zaire, with the goal of getting health care into rural areas of the country.
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William Close served President Mobutu Sese Seko as his personal physician, pilot, director of security, and was Surgeon General of the nation's army.
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William Close developed a hospital ship that traveled the Congo, bringing medical care, and, more importantly, medical education to remote village healers.
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On his way back home to the United States for a home leave, Dr Close returned to Kinshasa from Geneva, discussing the issue on the flight with two physicians from the Centers for Disease Control, Joel G Breman and Peter Piot, who discovered the Ebola virus.
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Back in Zaire, William Close obtained airplanes and pilots from the Ministry of Health to transport medical equipment to the affected area, using his personal connection to President Mobutu to obtain the access he needed.
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William Close coordinated efforts in the area, ensuring that medical supplies were directed to where they were most needed.
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William Close moved to Big Piney, Wyoming, where he became a country doctor, making his final house call a month before his death.
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William Close wrote four books, which included chronicles of his experiences as a doctor in Zaire and Wyoming.
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On February 6,1943, William Close married Bettine Moore in a ceremony held at the home of her parents in Greenwich.
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William Close was the daughter of Elizabeth Hyde and Charles Arthur Moore, Jr.
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William Close died of a heart attack on January 15,2009, in his home in Big Piney.