Dr. Mathilde Krim
Mathilde Krim, who began her crusade against a deadly virus and the discrimination against people who had contracted it in the early 1980s, died at her home on Monday, Jan. 15, at the age of 91.
Krim was a geneticist and virologist who had done work in cancer research. She was the founding chair of amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research.
“Dr. Krim was at the forefront of scientific and philanthropic responses to HIV/AIDS long before the world fully understood its catastrophic global reach,” amfAR wrote of its founding leader on its website.
Krim’s husband was the chairman of United Artists and Orion Pictures. In her fight for money for research and civil rights for people living with AIDS, Krim recruited friends from Hollywood to join the cause, most notably Elizabeth Taylor, who served as international chair.
In its testimonial to Krim, amfAR wrote:
She helped create it, supported it, kept it afloat more than once, and guided it with extraordinary dedication until poor health forced her to assume a less active role. Dr. Krim testified on Capitol Hill on several occasions and, with the help of allies such as Senator Edward M. Kennedy, was a driving force behind legislation that expanded access to lifesaving treatment and behind efforts to scale up federal funding for AIDS research. In August 2000, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the highest civilian honor in the United States.
Dr. Krim also fought discrimination against gays in housing and employment and against mandatory HIV testing that could be used to discriminate specifically against gay people.
— David Taffet
