CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · General Reference

Frederick George Novy

American bacteriologist

Cross-disciplinary reference desk with index cards, atlas, dictionary and catalogue
General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionApr 21, 2026
Entity authorityQ15999010
Source-derived summary

Frederick George Novy (December 9, 1864 – August 8, 1957) was an American bacteriologist, organic chemist, and instructor.

Biography

Born in Chicago, Illinois, the third son of Joseph Novy and his wife Frances, grew up on the West Side, near the site where the Great Chicago Fire started in 1871. After attending the local public schools, Novy matriculated to the University of Michigan where he studied chemistry, graduating with a B.S. in 1886. He performed his graduate studies at the same institution, receiving his master's degree in 1887 with a thesis on "Cocaine and its derivatives". At this time he became an instructor at the University, teaching a course in bacteriology, then was awarded an Sc.D. in 1890 with a thesis titled, "The Toxic Products of the Bacillus of Hog Cholera". The following year, he completed the work needed to receive his M.D. He was married to Grace Garwood in 1891; the daughter of Dr. V. G. Garwood.

Following his graduation, Dr. Novy was made Assistant Professor of Hygiene and Physiological Chemistry at the University of Michigan. He made visits overseas, to the University of Prague in 1894 and the Pasteur Institute in 1897, where he became a friend of Emile Roux and improved his understanding of bacteriology.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Frederick George Novy” is american bacteriologist. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Frederick, George and Novy, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1864, 1957, 1871, 1886—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1864-12-09. For this dossier, Frederick, George and Novy is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “american bacteriologist” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q15999010. VIAF identifies the subject as 53611324. The Library of Congress control number is n2007182157. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1864, 1957, 1871 and 1886.

Critical limits

The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Frederick George Novy”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Frederick George Novy primary sources, Frederick George Novy archive and Frederick research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Frederick George Novy”?
  2. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
  3. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Frederick George Novy” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.