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Leila Denmark

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Doctor

The Resume

    (February 1, 1898-April 1, 2012)
    Born in Portal, Georgia
    Birth name was Leila Daughtry
    Pediatrician
    Co-developer of the vaccine for whooping cough
    Treated an estimated 250,000 patients over seven decades

Why she might be annoying:

    She originally trained as a teacher, but decided to go to med school when her fiancé, a State Department official, was posted to the Dutch East Indies and no wives were allowed.
    At her 100th and 103rd birthdays, she refused to eat cake because it contained sugar. (You've passed the century mark and it's only one day. Live it up a little!)
    She told reporters, 'If all you want to talk about is how old my office is and how old I am, then I don't want to talk to you.'

Why she might not be annoying:

    She and John Denmark were married for 62 years until his death.
    She would see patients any time of day or night.
    She also volunteered at clinics treating the poor.
    She dispensed common sense advice to parents.
    She was the world's oldest practicing physician, finally retiring at age 103.
    She said, 'Doing what you don't like is work. Doing what you like is play. I have never worked a day in my life.'

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 88 Votes: 67.05% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 10 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 26 Votes: 88.46% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 32 Votes: 53.12% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 16 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 17 Votes: 52.94% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 24 Votes: 54.17% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 161 Votes: 68.94% Annoying