Thomas Noguchi
Japanese bacteriologist who linked syphilis to neurosyphilis and pioneered antivenom research.
Thomas Noguchi is a Japanese-American retired coroner who served as the chief medical examiner-coroner for Los Angeles County. He gained widespread recognition as the "coroner to the stars" for his work on numerous high-profile celebrity deaths in Hollywood during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Among the famous individuals whose autopsies he performed were John Belushi, Albert Dekker, William Holden, David Janssen, Janis Joplin, Robert F. Kennedy, Harris Glenn Milstead, Marilyn Monroe, Gia Scala, Inger Stevens, Sharon Tate, and Natalie Wood.
Born in Fukuoka Prefecture and raised in Yokosuka, Noguchi graduated from Tokyo's Nippon Medical School in 1951 and interned at the University of Tokyo School of Medicine Hospital before immigrating to the United States. He completed a second internship at Orange County General Hospital and residencies at Loma Linda University School of Medicine and Barlow Sanatorium in Los Angeles. He began working in the Los Angeles County coroner's office in 1961, first coming to public attention after performing Marilyn Monroe's autopsy. In 1967, he was appointed chief medical examiner-coroner by a narrow 3–2 vote of the Board of Supervisors, despite opposition from the county medical association and medical school leadership. He succeeded his mentor Theodore Curphey.
Noguchi's autopsy of Robert F. Kennedy concluded the fatal shot entered the back of Kennedy's head behind the right ear at an upward angle from extremely close range, a finding that fueled conspiracy theories since no witness placed convicted assassin Sirhan Sirhan that close. Noguchi later noted in his memoir that he never officially ruled Sirhan fired the fatal shot. Shortly after the Kennedy shooting, Noguchi resigned under pressure following testimony that he had been seen dancing in his office and expressing hope Kennedy would die, along with a secretary's claim he wanted to vivisect a county official. He attempted to withdraw his resignation but was rejected. His wife alleged racial discrimination, which the county countered by accusing Noguchi of racism. After a petition drive by Los Angeles' Japanese American community, he was restored to office. In his second term, criticism over speaking freely to the media, moonlighting, and alleged mismanagement—including a Los Angeles Times series suggesting his focus on celebrity deaths neglected routine cases—led to his d
- born
- November 9, 1876
- field
- Bacteriology
- nationality
- Japanese
- known_for
- Isolating Treponema pallidum in brain tissues of neurosyphilis patients; develop
Verified Timeline
Lore & Background
Noguchi was born Seisaku Noguchi in the town of Inawashiro in Fukushima Prefecture in 1876 to an impoverished farming family. At age two, he fell into an irori and suffered burns on his left hand; with no doctor in Inawashiro, his hand remained useless, the upper joints of the fingers gone and the thumb drawn down to his wrist. His elementary school teacher Kobayashi saw his talent and, due to generous contributions from his teacher, Noguchi received surgery fifteen years after the accident from Dr. Kanae Watanabe. In 1901, he started a research position at the University of Pennsylvania earning eight dollars a month from Flexner's own pocket. Flexner left for San Francisco, leaving Noguchi for three months under Dr. Silas Weir Mitchell; Flexner returned to find he had written 250 pages on snake venom. Mitchell and Noguchi presented their findings before the National Academy of Science in Philadelphia. Mitchell said afterward, "It is thanks to the great efforts of this young man that I have been able to bring my thirty years of research to their final conclusion."
Reader's Guide
Noguchi's most notable achievement was isolating Treponema pallidum in the brain tissues of patients with general paresis and tabes dorsals, a late stage consequence of tertiary syphilis. His discovery established the conclusive link between the physical and mental manifestation of syphilis. American educator and psychiatrist John Clare Whitehorn considered it an outstanding psychiatric achievement. Later, Noguchi developed the first serum to give partial immunity to Rocky Mountain spotted fever. He also suggested the name for the genus Leptospira in 1917. However, he became increasingly erratic and inaccurate, which might have been exacerbated from contracting syphilis, progressing to neurosyphilis, discovered during his autopsy by William Alexander Young. He misidentified yellow fever as being caused by the bacteria Leptospira icterohemorrhagiae, and received scrutiny when it was later understood to be a virus. Noguchi died of yellow fever in Accra, Gold Coast during an expedition to Africa in search for its cause. Posthumously, his work on yellow fever was overturned alongside his claims of discovering the causative agent of rabies, poliomyelitis and trachoma, and his culture of syphilis could not be reproduced.
Did You Know?
- Noguchi was two years old when he fell into an irori and suffered burns that left his left hand permanently disfigured until surgery fifteen years later.
- He wrote a 250-page manuscript on snake venom while his supervisor Simon Flexner was away investigating a plague outbreak in San Francisco.
- Noguchi was nominated several times for a Nobel prize in medicine between 1913 and 1927.
- His name is attached to the spirochete Leptospira noguchii.
- In 2004, Noguchi's face was featured on the 1000 yen note.
More in Medical Pioneers 1-24
Spotted an error? Know more?
This is a living reference — every entry is fact-audited, and reader corrections feed straight into our audit queue. Suggest an edit · See this site's audit record