Frank Hamlin Blackmarr

Blackmarr was born in Rouseville, Pennsylvania, the son of Hamlin Blackmarr and Mary Gray Blackmarr. His father was engaged in the mercantile business before entering the oil industry, where he opened the first large producing oil wells known in this country in Pennsylvania. He was associated with the Bradford Oil Exchange, gaining a reputation for conducting some of the largest transactions of the era and amassing a fortune. His uncle, Joseph T. Jones, was also one of the biggest oil men of the time. He was married to Melodia E. Blackmarr, and was the largest crude oil producer in the United States. He also financed the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad, built most of the early oil pipelines, co-founded the city of Gulfport, and developed its seaport. Education Blackmarr was educated at Allegheny College, graduating in 1893, and later attended the University of Chicago, where he graduated in 1895. While at the University of Chicago, Blackmarr worked as an assistant to the university's leading chemistry professor, a role he continued after graduation. Blackmarr was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity as well as Delta Kappa Epsilon. He was also a founding member of the Alpha Alpha chapter of Theta Nu Epsilon at the University of Chicago, an organization created as a chapter of the Skull and Bones. In June 1898, Blackmarr married Catherine M. Strong, daughter of Elizur Strong, the general manager of the natural gas interests of the Rockefeller's Standard Oil Company. At the time of the marriage, Blackmarr was still affiliated with the University of Chicago, an institution founded and funded by John D. Rockefeller. == Early medical career ==

In 1898, Blackmarr began practicing electro-therapeutics at the Hahnemann Medical College of Chicago and then in 1900 at the Edison College of Electro-Therapeutics, a school he helped found at 3977 Cottage Grove Avenue. The Edison College operated as part of the Chicago School of Psychology, founded and directed by Dr. Herbert A. Parkyn. The Chicago school offered coordinated courses of study covering osteopathy, electro-therapeutics, suggestive therapeutics, and hypnotism. Blackmarr was responsible for instruction in electro-therapeutics, and was aided by Prof. Charles H. Treadwell, formerly a professor of physics at Syracuse University. Students completing the program were granted diplomas in the degree of "Master of Electro-Therapeutics." Blackmarr also operated a radium laboratory established in 1900, equipped for radium therapy as well as X-ray and high-frequency electrical treatments. His work included the treatment of both malignant and benign conditions, as well as post-operative cases. During this period, he also announced a free clinic for the treatment of lupus and related diseases using the Finsen light method. File:A system of instruction in X-ray methods and medical uses of light, hot-air, vibration and high-frequency currents - a pictorial system of teaching by clinical instruction plates with explanatory text (14757056285).jpg|Electro-Therapy in Blackmarr's radium laboratory File:A system of instruction in X-ray methods and medical uses of light, hot-air, vibration and high-frequency currents - a pictorial system of teaching by clinical instruction plates with explanatory text (14757070165).jpg|Electro-Therapy in Blackmarr's radium laboratory == Titanic rescue and first detailed account of survivor experiences ==

who worked with Blackmarr to create a Titanic memorial. In April 1912, Blackmarr was a passenger aboard the RMS Carpathia, the vessel that responded to the distress call of the RMS Titanic and rescued its survivors in the early morning hours of April 15. As the Carpathia arrived at the scene and began taking survivors aboard, he assisted in their care as a physician while also recording observations of the rescue, taking photographs, and gathering statements from those who had escaped in the lifeboats. Using these firsthand observations and testimony, Blackmarr prepared a detailed account of the disaster describing the condition of the survivors, estimating that approximately 700 had been rescued, and recounting their experiences during the sinking and the time spent at sea in lifeboats. Because he had formed a friendship during the voyage with the ship's Marconi wireless operator, Harold Cottam, he was able to have this report transmitted over the ship's wireless system. The message was sent on April 17, 1912, to the Chicago Tribune and was subsequently republished in newspapers around the world, becoming the earliest widely circulated account to convey both the scale of the disaster and the experiences of those who survived. Recorded survivor statements and observations The Carpathia, under Captain Arthur H. Rostron, proceeded through ice fields and arrived at the scene at approximately 4:00 a.m., by which time the Titanic had already sunk. Blackmarr described the ocean as covered with debris, including wood fragments, furniture, pillows, mattresses, and personal belongings. He noted seeing items such as a woman's hat and a fur coat floating among the wreckage. As lifeboats approached the Carpathia, he observed that many were occupied primarily by women, some of whom had taken positions at the oars, often with a single man steering. Some lifeboats arrived with survivors seated beside dead bodies. Survivors were largely silent as they came alongside, showing little outward hysteria but clear physical exhaustion and emotional distress, particularly those searching for missing relatives. Many had blistered hands from rowing and were unable to climb ladders, requiring assistance to be brought aboard using improvised lifting methods. == Later medical career ==

Blackmarr stepped away from active medical practice for several years to study and refine the electrical apparatus used in his work. During this period, he trained at the Vienna Radium Clinic, where he learned contemporary European methods in radium therapy. Following this, he designed and patented several apparatus used in radium inhalation therapy.In 1913, he founded the Chicago Radium Institute, which operated across multiple areas of electro-therapeutics, including X-ray therapy, phototherapy, radiotherapy, radium treatment, radioactive substances and solutions for local and hypodermic use, and maintained an X-ray laboratory for rapid work. Blackmarr contributed extensively to medical literature on electro-therapeutics and was also active in professional organizations, including serving as President of the American Association of Clinical Research. Cancer treatment and X-ray therapy Blackmarr promoted the use of X-ray therapy as a treatment for cancer and reported cases in which he claimed successful results. In one example, a malignant ulcer of long duration was treated through repeated X-ray exposure without the use of drugs or local applications, and was claimed to have healed and restored the tissue. He attributed these results to the action of X-rays on both bacteria and the body's white blood corpuscles, stating that the treatment stimulated the body's defensive processes while destroying disease-producing organisms. He rejected explanations based on heat or burning and instead described the effect as a molecular or vibratory influence within the tissue. Blackmarr maintained that, under controlled application, this method could produce beneficial outcomes in certain cancer cases and asserted that an effective therapeutic approach.'''''' File:Dr. Frank H. Blackmarr Radium laboratory in Chicago.png|Blackmarr's X-Ray laboratory File:Dr. Frank H. Blackmarr Radium laboratory in Chicago. 1913.png|Blackmarr's Radium laboratory == Death ==

Frank Hamlin Blackmarr died on September 16, 1942, and was buried at Lake View Cemetery in Jamestown, New York. His collection of documents and photographs related to the Titanic remained in private hands for decades. It was rediscovered in the 1950s and sold at auction for $50,000. == References ==