O.W. Wight served as Milwaukee’s commissioner of Health in the late 1870s, and was instrumental in sweeping reforms that greatly improved public health and welfare. Illustration by Carl Swanson

My friends at OnMilwaukee.com have very kindy reprinted a blog post on O.W. Wight, the city’s crusading Commissioner of Health in the 1870s. In addition to being a medical doctor, attorney, and world traveler, Wight was a gifted and powerful writer, as you’ll see from the quotes in the article. If you missed this entry the first time around, I hope you’ll head over to OnMilwaukee.com and take a look.

Also, Wight’s efforts to clean up Milwaukee’s ice supply are covered in a separate Milwaukee Notebook article.