J. Antall szerk.: Medical history in Hungary 1972. Presented to the XXIII. International Congress of the History of Medicine / Orvostörténeti Közlemények – Supplementum 6. (Budapest, 1972)
E. Réti: Darwin's Influence on Hungarian Medical Thought (1868—1918) 157 J. Antall, A. Faiudy and K. Kapronczay: József Fodor and Public Health in Hungary
J. Antall—A. Faludÿ — K. Kapronczay : József Fodor iji and "met a very interesting and thoroughly well intended definition of the requirement of an examinator ". He goes on to report on his own efforts: "On the 11th Dec. I read before the Academy a new series of investigations upon the alcalinity of blood in animals which were injected with vaccina, with toxins with antitoxins. I am sure, the method of investigating the alkalinity of blood in infected animals (a method which I proposed the first on the Budapest Congress of Hygiene is a very precious one • ..)" Corfield knew how deeply Fodor was interested in sanitary questions, and before being published, he draws Fodor*s attention to an article of his entitled "Sanitary knowledge in 1800", saying "it will interest and amuse" him. 5 3 There are many references to congress and conference affairs. It was Corfield who initiated the successful International Congress of Hygiene held in London in 1891 and as Honorary Foreign Secretary had occasion to write Fodor official letters too. 5 4 But even on these formal letters, only signed by Corfield as secretary, we find some informal lines added to the letter with personal good-wishes. It has been already mentioned that Fodor was extremely proud of his degree of LL.D. He asked Corfield to order him a Cambridge LL.D. Gown, Cap and Hood to complete his pleasure, and his friend did his best to send him the set he wanted. The scarlet LL.D. gown (now in the possession of our Museum), the scarlet LL.D. hood and a Doctor's cap were sent to him from Cambridge on the 5th March, 1894, and he evidently received them safely. Corfield came to Budapest for the second time in 1894 to take part in the Eighth International Congress of Hygiene and Demography. Fodor received him as his friend and as President of the Organising Committee. He delivered a lecture on the 3 r d Sept. 1894 on the joint meeting of the 9th and 10th Sections (Hygiene of Public Buildings and Hygiene of Dwellings —he was the honorary president of the latter) entitled "The Protection of Dwelling Houses against Sewer Gas". On a meeting of the 5th Sept. he and Dr. Pistor from Berlin made a proposal "On the question of Promoting and Enforcing the Asepsis of Towns and Dwellings with regard to Public Cleanliness" . The resolution of the section was that a special committee should be nominated to examine their propositions and be discussed on the next international congress. Corfield's letters following the congress refer to the events past and the plans for the next Congress (1897): "I shall soon stir up the Committee which was 5 3 He publishes here three engravings from Sir John Harington's work of extreme rarity, entitled "A New Discourse of a Stale Subject called the Metamorphosis of AJAX" printed in 1596 representing an early form of Watercloset and sewage system, cf. Corfield, W. H. op. cit. Brit. Med. Journ. Dec. 29. 1900. pp. 1861 - 1863. 5 4 E.g. the letter dating from April, 1891 informing Fodor that he had been nominated an Additional Member of the Permanent Hygienic Committee appointed at Vienna —or letter from Sept. 1891 asking him for sending his photograph because it has been decided "to publish a photographic group of the delegates who were presented to Her Majesty at Osborne.
