Morton Hilbert
Encyclopedia
Morton Shelly Hilbert was a professor of public health, environmentalist
Environmentalist
An environmentalist broadly supports the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities"...

, and co-founder of Earth Day
Earth Day
Earth Day is a day that is intended to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's natural environment. The name and concept of Earth Day was allegedly pioneered by John McConnell in 1969 at a UNESCO Conference in San Francisco. The first Proclamation of Earth Day was by San Francisco, the...

. He touched the lives of thousands of people throughout the United States, Europe, U.S. Virgin Islands and developing nations where he helped develop public sanitation systems and sanitary public health-care facilities.

Education

In 1940, Hilbert graduated from the University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...

, Berkeley with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering and began his career as a public health official and field engineer in Michigan. He then enrolled in the University of Michigan School of Public Health
University of Michigan School of Public Health
The University of Michigan School of Public Health is one of the professional graduate schools of the University of Michigan. Located in Ann Arbor, Michigan UM SPH is one of the oldest schools of public health in the country and is also considered one of the most prestigious schools focusing on...

, and in 1946 received his masters degree in Public Health.

Environmental health

For 18 years he was director of the Environmental Health Department for Wayne County
Wayne County, Michigan
-History:Wayne County was one of the first counties formed when the Northwest Territory was organized. It was named for the American general "Mad Anthony" Wayne. It originally encompassed the entire area of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, as well as small sections that are now part of northern...

 in the Detroit area. In 1954, he helped to relocate 1 million refugees in Vietnam. In 1961, he returned to the University of Michigan as associate professor of environmental health. In 1968, Hilbert was appointed chairman of Environmental Health for the University of Michigan School of Public Health. The department eventually became Environmental and Industrial Health, and Hilbert was the first chairman.

From 1962-1969, he was the chairman of the board of the American Public Health Association
American Public Health Association
The American Public Health Association is Washington, D.C.-based professional organization for public health professionals in the United States. Founded in 1872 by Dr. Stephen Smith, APHA has more than 30,000 members worldwide...

. His reports address a range of environmental heath issues such as care of laboratory animals, air pollution, and sanitation in hospitals. In 1968, he served as a member of President Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...

's Task Force on Urban Problems.

Earth Day beginnings

In 1968, Hilbert and the U.S. Public Health Service organized the Human Ecology Symposium, an environmental conference for students to hear from scientists about the effects of environmental degradation on human health. This was the beginning of Earth Day. For the next two years, Hilbert and students worked to plan the first Earth Day. In the spring of 1970—along with a federal proclamation from U.S. Sen. Gaylord Nelson—the first Earth Day was held.

American Public Health Association

In 1975-76 he served as the first elected president of the American Public Health Association (APHA). He was elected president of the American Public Health Association in 1976 and focused his tenure on promoting the importance of prevention, rather than corrective action, in managing environmental health.

Research

Spanning the several decades of his career, he authored numerous articles on sanitation, disease prevention, housing, and the environment. Through his consulting business, Hilbert worked in many different locations including the Virgin Islands, Thailand, Egypt, and Malaysia.

Personal life and legacy

After retiring from the University of Michigan in 1986, Hilbert and his family moved to Brussels, Belgium, where Hilbert was director of the European Office of the National Sanitation Foundation. In 1992, he and his family moved to Bellevue, Washington
Bellevue, Washington
Bellevue is a city in the Eastside region of King County, Washington, United States, across Lake Washington from Seattle. Long known as a suburb or satellite city of Seattle, it is now categorized as an edge city or a boomburb. The population was 122,363 at the 2010 census.Downtown Bellevue is...

.

Hilbert is remembered by students, colleagues, and especially his family, who continue to honor his legacy. In 2008, his wife Stephanie Hilbert, Daughters Barbara Kaier and Major Kathi Murray, (Ret.) and son Stephen Hilbert, were honored guests of the Dalai Lama at the Earth Day celebration in Ann Arbor. In 2010, Stephen was keynote speaker celebrating Earth Day at Cascadia Community College
Cascadia Community College
Cascadia Community College is an American community college located in Bothell, Washington on a shared campus with the University of Washington, Bothell...

in Bothell, Washington.

Morton Hilbert's work can be viewed at the Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan. He is referenced in the history of conservation and environmentalism movements in Michigan. Recently, some have called for an increased awareness of Hilbert's role in the founding of Earth Day.
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