Charles Brooke Worth (1908–1984) was an American naturalist, virologist, and educator whose career bridged the worlds of medicine and natural history. Educated at Swarthmore College, where he also served as an instructor in zoology, Worth went on to earn his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania. During World War II, he served with the United States Army Medical School, instructing courses in tropical medicine and co-authoring the influential Manual of Tropical Medicine.
Following the war, Worth joined the Rockefeller Foundation as a Field Staff Member, a role that allowed him to conduct extensive public health and virology research around the globe. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, he was stationed at key research hubs, including the South African Institute of Medical Research in Johannesburg and a specialized laboratory in Trinidad associated with the University of the West Indies. His research focused heavily on malaria, viral vectors, and the potential for transovarial transmission of viruses by mosquitoes.
In addition to his scientific papers, Worth wrote several accessible books detailing his global expeditions and local observations, such as A Naturalist in Trinidad and Mosquito Safari: A Naturalist In Southern Africa. Upon returning to the United States, he settled on a farm in Eldora, Cape May, New Jersey, where he continued to study local insect and bird populations. This period inspired his 1972 book, Of Mosquitoes, Moths, and Mice. His farm was later preserved as a nature reserve, cementing his legacy as both a dedicated researcher and a passionate conservationist.
