Herbert Lester Gilman

Born in Woodbury, New York, on October 26, 1895, he grew up in Brooklyn-area schools and graduated from Richmond Hill High School in 1913. A memorial from Cornell says his early rides with an uncle who practiced country medicine helped steer him toward veterinary work, and he went on to study first at New York University and then at Cornell, earning his D.V.M. in 1917.

After graduation, he served in the Veterinary Corps of the United States Army during World War I. He later continued his studies at Cornell, earning advanced degrees and developing a research career centered on veterinary bacteriology and animal reproduction.

He is best remembered in print for A Study of Some Factors Influencing Fertility and Sterility in the Bull, a 1922 thesis and scientific publication. The book reflects his close interest in cattle health and reproductive science, and it remains the work most closely associated with his name. Herbert Lester Gilman died on October 27, 1982.