Nell Hirschberg

Nell Hirschberg
Hirschberg, from the 1928 yearbook of Smith College
Born(1907-09-30)September 30, 1907
Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
DiedNovember 16, 1988(1988-11-16) (aged 81)
Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S.
OccupationsBacteriologist, educator, music director

Nell Yondorf Hirschberg (September 30, 1907 – November 16, 1988) was an American public health microbiologist and bacteriologist, based in North Carolina. She was a professor of biology at North Carolina Central University from 1963 to 1976.

Early life and education

Hirschberg was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, the daughter of Sylvan Hirschberg and Alma M. Yondorf Hirschberg. Her father owned a cigar factory. She had two sisters; her sister Kate Hirschberg Kohn was a medical doctor and rehabilitation specialist.

Hirschberg graduated from Smith College in 1928, with a bachelor's degree in physics. She earned a master's degree in biology at the University of Colorado Boulder and completed doctoral studies in microbiology and public health in 1937 at the University of Illinois. During World War II she earned a certificate in tropical medicine from the Army Medical School.

Career

Hirschberg was a bacteriologist at a hospital in Illinois after college. She moved to Raleigh in 1942 with the United States Public Health Service, and was affiliated with the North Carolina State Laboratory of Hygiene, later the North Carolina Department of Health, from 1945 to 1963. She taught biology at North Carolina Central University from 1963 until her retirement in 1976. She directed NCCU's summer microbiology institute for college teachers. In 1978 she was presented with the Smith College Medal.

In 1973, Hirschberg became the first woman to serve as the president of Temple Beth Or in Raleigh. She was vice-president of the National Federation of Temple Sisterhoods. In 1968, she attended the meeting of the World Union for Progressive Judaism in Jerusalem, and met Israeli president Zalman Shazar and prime minister Levi Eshkol.

From 1970 to 1976 Hirschberg was a member of the board of directors of the North Carolina branch of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). In 1987 she was honored by the ACLU's Wake Forest chapter for her civil rights work. She wrote music reviews for the Raleigh News and Observer, and endowed a chair in the North Carolina Symphony.

Publications

Hirschberg's research was published in scientific journals including Journal of Immunology, The Journal of Infectious Diseases, American Review of Tuberculosis, The American Journal of the Medical Sciences, American Journal of Digestive Diseases, Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, American Journal of Public Health, and Journal of Bacteriology.

Personal life and legacy

Hirschberg lived and traveled for many years with Geraldine Cate, an activist, educator, and musician. Their 1949 house in Raleigh was designed by modernist architect Fred Carter Williams. Hirschberg died in 1988, in Raleigh, at the age of 81. There is a collection of her papers at Smith College. and she donated art to the North Carolina Museum of Art.

References

  1. ↑ "Sylvan Hirschberg (death notice)". Chicago Tribune. 1936-08-16. p. 18. Retrieved 2026-10-18 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ↑ "Obituary for Alma Hirschberg". Chicago Tribune. 1956-02-03. p. 18. Retrieved 2026-10-18 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ "Hirschberg (death notice)". Chicago Tribune. 1988-11-27. p. 45. Retrieved 2026-10-18 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "Kate Kohn Obituary - IL". Chicago Tribune. 2002-08-15. Retrieved 2026-10-18.
  5. ↑ Smith College, Class of 1928 (1928 yearbook): 62; via Internet Archive.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Dr. Hirschberg, NCCU Professor". The Herald-Sun. 1988-11-18. p. 34. Retrieved 2026-10-18 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. 1 2 "Dr. Nell Hirschberg is Speaker at Jewish Ladies Aid Society Meeting". The Columbus Ledger. 1969-05-04. p. 53. Retrieved 2026-10-18 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. 1 2 3 Nell Hirschberg papers, Smith College Special Collections.
  9. 1 2 Lampley, Linda (1972-01-28). "Dr. Nell Hirschberg Takes Care of Bacteria, Bach, Brahms, Beethoven". The Herald-Sun. p. 6. Retrieved 2026-10-18 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Microbiologists; Dr. Nell Hirschberg, second from right, director (photograph)". Getty Images. 1966. Retrieved 2026-10-17.
  11. ↑ "Professor and activist Nell Hirschberg dies". The News and Observer. 1988-11-17. p. 48. Retrieved 2026-10-18 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Nell Hirschberg is Woman of Year". The News and Observer. 1977-03-22. p. 30. Retrieved 2026-10-18 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "Dr. Hirschberg in Jerusalem". The News and Observer. 1968-07-19. p. 17. Retrieved 2026-10-18 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ "Music Money". The Herald-Sun. 1986-05-13. p. 23. Retrieved 2026-10-18 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. 1 2 Saphir, William; Hirschberg, Nell (1933-11-01). "Complement Fixation Test in Carcinoma". The Journal of Immunology. 25 (5): 439–446. doi:10.4049/jimmunol.25.5.439. ISSN 0022-1767.
  16. 1 2 Tunnicliff, Ruth; Howell, Katharine M.; Hirschberg, Nell (1935). "Complement-Fixation and Opsonification Tests of Smooth and Rough Tubercle Bacilli with the Serum of Patients Suffering from Different Grades of Tuberculosis". The Journal of Infectious Diseases. 56 (2). Oxford University Press: 111–115. ISSN 0022-1899.
  17. 1 2 Hirschberg, Nell; Yarbrough, Mary E. (1952). "Fractions of Brucella for Adsorbed Antigens for Collodion Agglutination and Hemagglutination Tests". The Journal of Infectious Diseases. 91 (3). Oxford University Press: 238–245. ISSN 0022-1899.
  18. 1 2 Hirschberg, Nell; Arnold, Lloyd (June 1938). "The Effect of Human Tissue Juices on Tubercle Bacilli". American Review of Tuberculosis. 37 (6): 598–611.
  19. 1 2 Hirschberg, Nell, and I. P. Bronstein. "Note on a Cretin's Response to Typhoid Inoculation" American Journal of the Medical Sciences 202(3)(September 1941): 333–36.
  20. 1 2 Hirschberg, N. "Phagocytic Activity in Leukemia" American Journal of the Medical Sciences 197(5)(1939): 706–712.
  21. 1 2 Hirschberg, Nell (June 1942). "Cellulose splitting micro-organisms in human feces". American Journal of Digestive Diseases. 9 (6): 200–202. doi:10.1007/BF02997318. ISSN 0002-9211.
  22. 1 2 Hirschberg, Nell (1942-08-01). "Isolation of Intestinal Pathogens From Preserved Stools of Children". Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. 64 (2): 248. doi:10.1001/archpedi.1942.02010080040006. ISSN 1072-4710.
  23. 1 2 Hirschberg, Nell; Maddry, Lynn; Hines, Martin (January 1956). "Laboratory Services in the Diagnosis of Leptospirosis". American Journal of Public Health and the Nations Health. 46 (1): 45–53. doi:10.2105/AJPH.46.1.45. ISSN 0002-9572. PMC 1623421. PMID 13275628.
  24. 1 2 Galton, Mildred M.; Hirschberg, Nell; Menges, Robert W.; Hines, Martin P.; Habermann, Robert (October 1959). "An Investigation of Possible Wild Animal Hosts of Leptospires in the Area of the 'Fort Bragg Fever' Outbreaks". American Journal of Public Health and the Nations Health. 49 (10): 1343–1348. doi:10.2105/AJPH.49.10.1343. ISSN 0002-9572. PMC 1372948. PMID 13826200.
  25. 1 2 Hirschberg, Nell (February 1958). "Direct Performance and Darkfield Readings of Leptospira Tests in Plastic Trays with Depressions". Journal of Bacteriology. 75 (2): 237–237. doi:10.1128/jb.75.2.237-237.1958. ISSN 0021-9193. PMC 290063. PMID 13513588.
  26. 1 2 Hirschberg, Nell (November 1962). "Simplified Method for Staining Smears for Fluorescent Antibody". Journal of Bacteriology. 84 (5): 1126–1126. doi:10.1128/jb.84.5.1126-1126.1962. ISSN 0021-9193. PMC 278028. PMID 13961202.
  27. ↑ Bartram, M. Thomas; Cralley, Lewis J.; Evans, Alfred; Gable, Tom S.; Hirschberg, Nell; Hogan, Ralph B.; Bodily, Howard L. (August 1963). "Standardization of Milk Plating Media; Report of the Coordinating Committee on Laboratory Methods". American Journal of Public Health and the Nations Health. 53 (8): 1305–1310. doi:10.2105/AJPH.53.8.1305. ISSN 0002-9572. PMC 1254258. PMID 14051268.
  28. ↑ "Geraldine Cate Papers, 1918-1996". Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 2026-10-17.
  29. ↑ The Geraldine Cate Fund, National Association of Teachers of Singing.
  30. ↑ "Fred Carter Williams". NC Modernist Houses. Retrieved 2026-10-17.
  31. ↑ Archipenko, Alexander. "Standing Woman Combing Hair" (20th century bronze sculpture), North Carolina Museum of Art.