Biography / History

John Candler “Jock” Cobb was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1919. As a very young child, Dr. Cobb spent time in England, France and Germany and returned to Massachusetts in 1926. After graduating from Harvard in 1941 with a degree in astronomy, Dr. Cobb worked as a volunteer ambulance driver for the American Field Service in Syria, North Africa, and Italy. This experience led him to Harvard Medical School on his return to the United States in 1944. After receiving his medical degree in 1948, Dr. Cobb taught at Johns Hopkins while getting a Master of Public Health.

In 1956, he joined the Public Health Service as the Area Consultant in Maternal and Child Health for the Public Health Service, Division of Indian Health. Based in Albuquerque, he worked in Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico, covering 12 hospitals that provided healthcare to American Indians. From 1960 to 1964, Dr. Cobb was the director of the Medical Social Research Project in Lahore, Pakistan. In 1965 he took a position as a Professor of Preventive Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and became Chair of the department in 1966.

At various times since 1969, Dr. Cobb has been a consultant for the World Health Organization and Project Hope, an investigator for the Environmental Protection Agency, and an exchange professor of preventive medicine in China. Dr. Cobb has been involved nationally and internationally with issues involving peace and public health. Dr. Cobb married in 1946 and has four children.

Scope and Content

This interview with Dr. John C. Cobb II (1919- ) focuses on his experiences in the mid-1950's as a consultant to the newly-formed Indian Health Service in matters concerning maternal & child health. He discusses the most prevalent health problems of the Native American populations in New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado, and the cultural interactions occurring as western medicine was increasingly made available. The effects of isolation, radiation (from mining), poverty, living conditions and lack of health education are discussed in some detail.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research.

Copy Restrictions

Limited duplication of print materials allowed for research purposes. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Preferred Citation

John C. “Jock” Cobb, II. Oral History, New Mexico Health Historical Collection, Health Sciences Center Library and Informatics Center, University of New Mexico.

Processing Information

The oral history was processed by Janet Johnson in 1994.

Access Terms

Cobb, John C. II., 1919-

Communicable diseases

Navajo Reservation (N.M.)

Sanitation

Santa Fe Indian Hospital (N.M.)

Stockel, H. Henrietta, 1938-

U. S. Public Health Service. Indian Health Service

I. Oral History   1994

II. Miscellaneous   1956-2004