Jonas Salk

Jonas Salk working on the vaccine. (http://exyrex.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/jonas_salk_august_1956-300x284.jpg)

The Man Who Saved the World

Jonas Salk saved millions, and is a well known lifesaver around the world. He was a medical researcher long ago, born on October 28, 1914. The main reason that Mr. Salk, is a famous / well known hero is because he created the first safe polio vaccine. He died of heart failure 16 years ago on 1995 at the age of 80. 500 million children (as of 2002) have been immunized from polio because of the amazing vaccine he invented. Salk received a solid gold medal from the president and won a Nobel Prize for inventing the vaccine. Jonas Salk has proven that he was a diligent, ambitious, and courageous hero.

Jonas Salk never gave up on his work and worked tirelessly for years trying to discover this cure to save millions of lives. Polio was the most frightening public health problem ever at the time, long after the black plague. Salk took this as a challenge. He thought that he could save millions of lives. He never lost hope or gave up during his research and always had a positive attitude while doing it. I think being diligent is an essential characteristic that a hero must have to become a hero. If someone gave up half way through and had a terrible attitude, they would be less likely to be successful. That is the opposite of Jonas Salk. He was always positive, he worked hard for years and he was a very courageous man.

Jonas Salk never feared failure. On April 12, 1955, the day the vaccine was invented, it was such an amazing cure that they considered making this day a holiday. When Salk had created this vaccine, a reporter had asked him if he had patented this cure and he replied with “There is no patent. Could you patent the sun?” That is why I think Jonas Salk is a true courageous hero. He clearly didn’t make this vaccine for his own benefit. He did it to stop this one disease from infecting/killing the world. He was awarded medals and money, but he didn’t do it for that reason. He tested this vaccine on animals, but then he knew it was time to test it on humans. He knew that this had a chance of killing the first person to try it so, he tried it on himself, his wife, and children. It worked and had saved almost everyone on Earth from this brutal disease. Jonas Salk was such a courageous man and he was driven by his ambition to defeat Polio.

The Polio Vaccine (http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/sal0bio-1)

Jonas Salk always made sure that his work was done perfectly and always worked with caution. If Salk wasn’t as ambitious as he was, his vaccine wouldn’t have been such a success saving a 100 million people. He knew that if his vaccine had one little tiny flaw that it wouldn’t have worked and could have killed him and his family. In high school Jonas Salk was known as the “perfectionist” because he was such an ambitious student his whole life. If Jonas Salk wasn’t such an ambitious man, maybe there would be no such thing as this vaccine today.

Jonas Salk, in my opinion is the world’s greatest hero. He has saved over 100 million people because of one vaccine that he created. For the 80 years that Mr. Salk was alive he possessed the traits diligence, ambition, and courage. Jonas Salk has saved so many lives now and into the future, that it is uncountable. Jonas Salk is truly one of the greatest heroes to ever live on this planet.