William Welch

For more information on William Henry Welch, visit Britannica.com.

The American pathologist, bacteriologist, and medical educator William Henry Welch (1850-1934) established a firm foundation for the development of the medical sciences in the United States.

William H. Welch was born on April 8, 1850, in Norfolk, Conn. He entered Yale at the age of 16, where the study of the classics was his major interest. After graduating in 1870, he taught Greek and Latin in Norwich.

Although his father and grandfather were physicians, Welch had little interest in medicine while at Yale. Gradually his attitude changed, and in 1871 he became an apprentice to his father and then a student at Yale's scientific school, where he learned basic science. In 1872 he entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York, graduating in 1875. After an internship at New York's Bellevue Hospital, Welch went to Germany to study pathology and physiology and had a first contact with the rising science of bacteriology. When he returned to the United States, he established the first laboratory for pathology in the United States, at the Bellevue Hospital Medical School. On a second trip to Europe, in 1884, Welch concentrated specifically on bacteriology and became one of the earliest proponents of this science in the United States.

In 1884 Welch was appointed professor of pathology at Johns Hopkins Hospital and Medical School in Baltimore, which was then under construction. When the medical school opened in 1893, Welch was appointed dean of the medical faculty, a position he held until 1898. His selection of department heads exerted a powerful influence on the modern direction in which medicine in the United States was to go. Equally important in this regard were his many positions in organizations, including service as president of the Board of Scientific Directors of the Rockefeller Institute (1901-1933), president of the American Medical Association (1910-1911), and president of the National Academy of Sciences (1913-1916).

Medicine was also public health to Welch, and a great dedication to this area characterized his life. He was, for example, president of the Maryland State Board of Health (1898-1922), and he was the leading figure in the establishment of the important School of Hygiene and Public Health at Johns Hopkins, of which he was director (1918-1926).

At the age of 76 Welch accepted a new chair in medical history at Johns Hopkins and guided the development of the Institute of the History of Medicine. Through his efforts a fine medical library was also established, which was dedicated in 1929 and bears his name.

Welch's greatest factual contribution to medicine was the discovery of the bacillus causing gas gangrene, first reported in 1892. Far more important than such specific discoveries was his far-reaching impact on medicine, expressed through a general emphasis on the new sciences like bacteriology and through brilliant leadership. He died in Baltimore on April 30, 1934.

Further Reading

Walter C. Burket edited Welch's Papers and Addresses (3 vols., 1920). The most complete biography of Welch is Simon and James Thomas Flexner, William Henry Welch and the Heroic Age of American Medicine (1941). Donald Fleming, William H. Welch and the Rise of Modern Medicine (1954), is a popular account.

Additional Sources

Fleming, Donald, William H. Welch and the rise of modern medicine, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987, 1954.

American pathologist and bacteriologist who discovered the bacteria that causes gas gangrene.

For other persons named William Welch, see William Welch (disambiguation).

William Welch
Ring name(s)	"Iron" Mike Ehrhardt The Blunatic (The) Messiah
Billed height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[1]
Billed weight	210 lb (95 kg)[1]
Born	December 18, 1977 (1977-12-18) (age 31)[1] Detroit, Michigan
Trained by	Carlito Montana[1] Slam U. Wrestling Gym[1] Dynamite D[1]
Debut	November 11, 1996[1]

William C. Welch^[2] (born December 18, 1977) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name (The) Messiah.

Contents 1 Career 1.1 Xtreme Pro Wrestling 1.2 Combat Zone Wrestling 1.3 Independent circuit 2 Other media 3 In wrestling 4 Championships and accomplishments 5 References 6 External links

Career

Welch's professional career began on November 11, 1996, after being trained at the Slam U. Wrestling Gym in Sun Valley, Los Angeles, California. He worked for the school's parent company, the Slammers Wrestling Federation for a time, losing his first professional match there to El Sprito. In the Slammers Wrestling Federation, he worked under the name "Iron" Mike Ehrhardt.

Xtreme Pro Wrestling

Upon joining Xtreme Pro Wrestling (XPW), under his new ring name (The) Messiah, with his gimmick being changed to that of a holy man, Welch soon rose up the card and eventually became a main eventer while wrestling against Extreme Championship Wrestling alumni including Sabu, Chris Candido and New Jack.^[3] The Messiah cemented his spot as one of XPW's main wrestlers when he won both the World Heavyweight and the King of the Deathmatch Championships to become the company's first and only double champion.

Combat Zone Wrestling

After leaving XPW, Welch, using his Messiah ring name and gimmick, made his debut in Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) on August 31, 2002 at their first Tournament of Death, only thirty days after being assaulted in his home by two assailants. Despite not being a part of the tournament, Messiah entered himself into it by defeating then-Iron Man Champion Adam Flash in the first round before losing to Nick Mondo in the semi-finals. Messiah soon went on to win the company's World Heavyweight Championship from Justice Pain in a match that also involved Nick Mondo and Adam Flash's Iron Man title, which Flash lost to Mondo. The Messiah would go on to win the World Heavyweight title two more times, including having a near year-long reign that lasted from March 6, 2004 to February 5, 2005, the longest reign in the championship's history. He also won the Iron Man Championship on one occasion, before he began appearing only sporadically at CZW shows, and ultimately left the promotion in December 2006. On December 8, 2007, Messiah returned to CZW for one night only at their biggest event of the year, Cage of Death IX. He faced Ruckus and a returning Nick Gage in a triple threat match for Ruckus' CZW World Heavyweight Championship, but was unsuccessful in winning the belt after Gage pinned Ruckus.

Independent circuit

In addition to CZW, Welch also competes in other hardcore wrestling-oriented companies, including Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South, the now defunct Pro-Pain Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Unplugged.

Other media

Welch, as The Messiah, appeared in the video game Backyard Wrestling 2: There Goes the Neighborhood.

In wrestling

• Finishing moves
  • Fall From Grace (Inverted Death Valley driver)^[1]

• Signature moves
  • Carlito's Way (Military press dropped into a cutter)^[1] – named in tribute to his trainer Carlito Montana
  • Cross Factor (Sitout facebuster, sometimes from the top rope)^[1]
  • Diving crossbody^[1]
  • DDT^[1]
  • Dropkick^[1]
  • Figure four leglock^[1]
  • Godsmack (Spinning fireman's carry stunner)^[1]
  • Holy Roller (Running somersault senton off of the ring apron onto a standing opponent)^[1]
  • Snap suplex^[1]
  • Side slam^[1]
  • Springboard into either a leg drop^[1] or a moonsault^[1]

• Entrance themes
  • "Falling Away from Me" by Korn
  • "Messiah" by Fear Factory
  • "Prayer" by Disturbed

Championships and accomplishments

• Combat Zone Wrestling
  • CZW Iron Man Championship (1 time)^[1]
  • CZW World Heavyweight Championship (3 times)^[1][4]

• Insane Wrestling Federation
  • IWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Adam Flash^[1]

• Millennium Pro Wrestling
  • MPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[1]

• NWA Florida
  • NWA Florida King of the Deathmatch Championship (1 time)^[1]

• Pacific Championship Wrestling
  • PCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[1]

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI ranked him #241 in the of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 2003

• River City Wrestling
  • RCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Scott McKenzie

• Xtreme Pro Wrestling
  • XPW King of the Deathmatch Championship (1 time)^[1]
  • XPW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab} "Messiah profile". Online World of Wrestling. http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/m/messiah.html. Retrieved 2009-04-25. 
2. ^ Woods II, Wes (2000-09-05). "Xtreme wrestling; Insane entertainers take the sport in a bloody direction". Online 49er. http://www.csulb.edu/~d49er/archives/2000/fall/diversions/v8n5-wrestling.html. Retrieved 2009-04-25. 
3. ^ Rose, Mark (2003-07-16). "The Story of The Messiah". Online World of Wrestling. http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/columns/markrose/messiah.html. Retrieved 2009-04-25. 
4. ^ "CZW Title History". Title Histories. http://titlehistories.com/Combat_Zone_Wrestling.htm. Retrieved 2009-04-25. 

External links

Professional wrestling portal

• Online World of Wrestling profile

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)