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1882 |
US Pres. Chester Arthur (1829-1886) was diagnosed with terminal kidney disease. Only his doctors knew and his fatigue was commonly mistaken for executive laziness. Links: USA, Medical, ArthurC 
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1883 |
The Oregon State Hospital was built in Salem. It was used for the 1975 film “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” In 2004 legislators discovered the cremated remains of some 3,600 mental patients in corroding copper canisters. In 2008 the main building was scheduled to be torn down and replaced by a new complex. Links: Medical, Oregon
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1885 Mar |
In Loganville, Pa., Dr. George E. Holtzapple (22) saved Fred Gable (16), who was suffering from pneumonia, by supplying the boy with pure oxygen. Oxygen therapy became the only effective treatment for pneumonia until antibiotics became available in the 1940s. Links: USA, Microbiology, Pennsylvania, Medical
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1885 Jul 6 |
French scientist Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) successfully tested an anti-rabies vaccine on a boy bitten by an infected dog. Thanks to his vaccine the death rate from rabies dropped to almost zero by 1888. Links: France, Microbiology, Medical
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1888 |
A gastrointestinal disorder, later known as celiac disease, was formally described by and English pediatrician. The disease was later understood as an auto-immune attack on the small intestine lining triggered by gluten proteins in grains. An effective treatment emerged in 1950 when Willem Dicke, a Dutch doctoral student, noticed that celiac children had improved after WW II disrupted flour supplies. Links: Britain, Netherlands, Medical
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1893 Jul 9 |
Daniel Hale Williams (1858-1931), an African-American surgeon, performed successful heart surgery on a teenager in Chicago. Links: USA, Black History, Chicago, Medical, Heart
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1896 |
F. Hoffman-La Roche & Co. was founded in Switzerland. Links: Switzerland, Medical
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1897 Aug 10 |
Felix Hoffmann, a German worker for Bayer, rediscovered aspirin (acetyl salicyclic acid), the active ingredient of the willow plant’s (salicin). In 1832 a French chemist named Charles Gergardt had experiments with salicin and created salicylic acid. On March 6, 1899, Bayer registered Aspirin as a trademark. Links: Germany, Medical, Pharma
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1899 |
The vibrator was introduced as a home medical appliance. By 1904 it appeared in magazine advertisements. In 1918 a Sears Roebuck catalog described a $5.95 portable model. Links: USA, Technology, Medical, Advertising
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1899 |
Dr. Charles Wardell Stiles, a zoologist from Hartford, Connecticut, identified "progressive pernicious anemia," seen in the southern United States, as caused by A. duodenale. He also identified the other important hookworm species: Necator americanus. Stiles had studied medical zoology in Europe in the late 19th century and learned about hookworms while helping with animal autopsies and studies. From 1909 to 1914, doctors, public health officials, and northern businessmen worked to destroy what they called the "germ of laziness." They believed such a germ caused many of the South's problems, poverty, a sickly population, and economic underdevelopment. But the germ these people were attacking wasn't a germ at all. It was a worm, the hookworm. Links: USA, Microbiology, Medical
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1900 1902 |
US Colonel Leonard Wood served as governor of Cuba. He cleaned up unsanitary conditions and supported medical investigations that tied yellow fever and malaria to mosquitoes. Links: USA, Cuba, Microbiology, Medical
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1901 |
A silver refinery was established in Torreon in Coahuila state. Land for housing was sold next to the area in the 1970’s and in 1998 a pediatrician began noticing high levels of lead among the children. The Met Mex Penoles plant had created a mountain of slag over the years and poisonous lead seeped into the blood of thousands of children in the area. In 1999 a plan was announced to evacuate a 20-block area. 393 homes were to be bulldozed for a 15-acre buffer zone in a $36 million cleanup program, the largest ever by a Mexican company. Links: Environment, Mexico, Medical, Kids
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1906 Nov |
Alois Alzheimer (1864-1915), German psychiatrist, first described the symptoms of a progressive neurodegenerative disease that caused memory loss, dementia and ultimately death. This was based on his patient, Auguste D (56). She was the first person to have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Links: Germany, Medical, Psychiatry
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1906 |
The first cornea transplant was performed in Austria by Dr. Eduard Zirm. Links: Austria, Medical
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1907 |
Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) became the first woman to receive the British Order of Merit. Links: Britain, Women, Medical
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1908 |
In San Francisco Southern Pacific built a hospital at Fell and Baker to treat employees. It was sold to Upjohn pharmaceuticals in 1968 and was later converted to senior housing. Links: SF, Medical
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1909 May 1 |
Walter Reed Hospital opened in Washington DC as an 80-bed Army medical center. It closed in 2011 and operations were moved to facilities in Maryland and Virginia. Links: USA, Medical, DC
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1909 |
Carlos Chagas (1879-1934), a Brazilian doctor, described how a fatal infection, that became known as Chagas disease, was transmitted as a single cell parasite, Trypanosoma cruzi, carried by insects that typically bite their sleeping victims on the face. In 1921 Chagas won the Nobel Prize in Medicine. In 2010 scientists at UC San Francisco reported the development of a protease inhibitor, K777, which appeared to kill the parasite. Links: Brazil, Microbiology, SF, Medical
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1910 May 31 |
Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell (b.1821), the first American woman to become a doctor, died. She and colleagues founded the New York Infirmary for Women and Children (1857). Links: USA, New York, Women, Medical
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1910 Aug 13 |
Florence Nightingale (90), British nurse famous for her care of British soldiers during the Crimean War, died. In 2004 Gillian Gill authored “Nightingales: The Extraordinary Upbringing and Curious Life of Miss Florence Nightingale.” In 2008 Mark Bostridge authored Florence Nightingale: The Making of an Icon.” Links: Britain, Women, Medical, Biography
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1910 Dec 18 |
The first dispensary for treating hookworm disease opened December 18, 1910, in Columbia, Mississippi. Links: USA, Microbiology, Medical, Mississippi
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1910 |
US General Leonard Wood (b.1860) was named Chief of Staff of the Army, the only medical officer to ever hold the position. Links: USA, Medical
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1910 |
The Flexner Report, a book-length study of medical education in the US and Canada, led to the overhaul of medical education. It was written under the aegis of the Carnegie Foundation. Links: Canada, USA, Medical, Education
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1912 Apr 12 |
Clara Barton (b.1821), the founder of the American Red Cross, died at her home in Glen Echo, Maryland at age 90. Links: USA, Women, Medical
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1912 Aug 14 |
The US Public Health Service was established under the Dept. of the Treasury by the Public Health and Marine Hospital Service Act (37 Stat. 309). Links: USA, Medical
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1913 |
New York state passed “the eight foot sheet law” to ensure that the upper sheet in a hotel was of sufficient length to cover the face so “that the inhalation by the occupant of bacteria &c, may be prevented.” Links: USA, New York, Microbiology, Medical
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1915 |
Geisinger Health Systems was founded in Pennsylvania. Links: USA, Pennsylvania, Medical
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1918 Oct 5 |
The Univ. of Michigan played a home football game against Case Institute of Technology and won 33-0. A number of fans in the stands were infected with influenza and passed it on to fellow spectators. The first two local deaths occurred on Oct 11. The local epidemic was declared over on Nov 4 with 117 deaths in Ann Arbor. Links: USA, Microbiology, Medical, Michigan, Football
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1918 |
The influenza epidemic killed 11,000 people in Philadelphia. Links: USA, Microbiology, Pennsylvania, Medical
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1918 |
The Bailey Radium Laboratories, Inc., of East Orange, New Jersey, began manufacturing Radithor. It was advertised as "A Cure for the Living Dead" as well as "Perpetual Sunshine." It consisted of triple distilled water containing at a minimum 1 microcurie (37 kBq) each of the radium 226 and 228 isotopes. The FTC issued a cease and desist order against the manufacture in 1931. Links: USA, Medical, New Jersey
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1920 |
Russia became the first country to allow abortion. Links: Russia, Medical
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1921 May 17 |
Toronto's Dr. Banting (1891-1941) and graduate student Charles Best (1899-1978) began research at the Univ. of Toronto that led to their discovery of insulin. [see Jul 27] In 1982 Michael Bliss authored “The Discovery of Insulin.” Links: Canada, Medical
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1921 |
Carlos Chagas (1879-1934), a Brazilian doctor, won the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his 1909 discovery of how a single cell parasite carried by insects transmitted a disease (Chagas disease) to sleeping victims. Links: Brazil, Nobel Prize, Medical
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1922 Sep 7 |
Dr. William Halsted (b.1852), an American surgeon, died. He had emphasized strict aseptic technique during surgical procedures, was an early champion of newly discovered anesthetics, and introduced several new operations, including the radical mastectomy for breast cancer. Halsted had experimented with cocaine and injected himself with the drug. Throughout his professional life, he was addicted to cocaine and later also to morphine. Links: USA, Medical, Drugs
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1922 |
Vitamin E was discovered in when Evans HM et al. described a "substance X" that was essential to maintain rat fertility. After obtaining similar results, Sure B called the substance "vitamin E" because vitamins A, B, C, and D were already known. Links: USA, Medical
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1922 |
Otto Meyerhof (1884-1951), German doctor, won the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his discovery of the fixed relationship between the consumption of oxygen and the metabolism of lactic acid in the muscle. Links: Germany, Nobel Prize, Medical
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1924 |
In SF the Chinese Hospital was built in Chinatown at 835 Jackson. An addition was added next door in 1979. Expansion plans in 2012 called for the original building to be torn down and replaced by a new, $160 million, 7-story facility. Links: USA, SF, Medical
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1925 Jan 27 |
Anchorage, Alaska, delivered a diphtheria antitoxin to Nenana. Dr. Curtis Welch in Nome had begun diagnosing cases of diphtheria. An emergency delivery of serum against the disease was arranged by dogsled. 20 mushers rushed the serum 674 miles from Nenana to Nome in 5 days. The last leg of the journey was run by Gunnar Kaasen (1882-1964) and his lead dog Balto (d.1933). An animated film on Balto was made in 1995 by Stephen Spielberg. The longest segment of the journey, 260 miles, was run by Leonhard Seppala and his lead dog Togo. The events were later described by Bill Sherwonit in his book: "Iditarod: the Great Race to Nome." Links: USA, Microbiology, Medical, Alaska, Animal
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1926 Jul 2 |
Emile Coue (b.1857 as Émile Coué de Châtaigneraie ), French psychologist and pharmacist, died. He introduced a method of psychotherapy and self-improvement based on optimistic autosuggestion. Working as an apothecary at Troyes from 1882 to 1910, Coué discovered what later came to be known as the placebo effect. He became known for reassuring his clients by praising each remedy's efficiency and leaving a small positive notice with each given medication. Links: France, Medical, Pharma, Psychology
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1926 Oct 7 |
Emil Kraepelin (b.1856), German psychiatrist, died. He co-discovered Alzheimer’s disease along with Alois Alzheimer. The final edition of his Textbook of Psychiatry was published in 1927, shortly after his death. Links: Germany, Medical, Psychiatry
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1927 May |
Grace Fryer (1893-1933) and 4 other former dial painters filed suit in the New Jersey Supreme Court against U.S. Radium for medical expenses and pain. They were dubbed the “Radium Girls” and their case was championed by journalist Walter Lippman. The case was settled out of court in 2008. Links: USA, Medical, New Jersey, Lawsuit, Journalism
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1929 |
Scientists isolated the hormone estrogen as a compound. Links: Medical, Biology
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1929 1974 |
In North Carolina over 7,600 people were forcibly sterilized during this period. In 2011 Gov. Beverly Perdue created a 5-person task force to decide on compensation. Links: USA, Medical, North Carolina
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1929 |
Dr. Albert C. Barnes sold his business before the market crash. He had made a fortune developing and marketing Argyrol, an antiseptic. His art collection of Post-Impressionist and early modern art in America became the greatest private collection in America. Links: USA, Medical
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1930 |
Otto Warburg (1883-1970), German physiologist and medical doctor, discovered that cancer cells often rely on glycolysis. This came to be called the Warburg effect. Links: Medical, Cancer
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1933 Jun 10 |
Col. Eugene Northington (53) of the US Army Medical Corps died in SF from X-ray cancers. He had dedicated his life to pioneering work studying X-rays. Links: USA, SF, Medical
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1934 Jul 1 |
The 1st x-ray photo of entire body was made in Rochester, NY. Links: USA, New York, Technology, Medical
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1935 Sep 11 |
Charles Norris (b.1868), former NYC chief medical examiner and forensic pioneer, died. He and toxicologist Thomas A. Gonzales (1878-1956) were instrumental in developing forensics as an extension of clinical medicine in which information derived from study of the dead was applied to benefit the living. Their combined efforts between 1918 and 1954 represent the epitome of the application of scientific expertise to medicolegal investigation of deaths in America. In 2010 Deborah Blum authored “The Poisoner’s Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York.” Links: USA, NYC, Medical
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1935 |
Scientists at Cornell Univ. reported that restricting calories had an antiaging effect in rodents. Links: USA, New York, Medical
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1936 |
Portuguese neurologist Antonio Egas Moniz (1874-1955) performed the first prefrontal brain lobotomy. It was later rejected as a valid medical technique. Moniz won the Nobel Prize in 1949 for his development of prefrontal leucotomy (lobotomy). Links: Nobel Prize, Medical
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1936 |
Psychiatrist Walter Freeman and his partner Jerry Watts became the first American doctors to perform a prefrontal lobotomy. In 1960 Freeman performed a lobotomy on Howard Dully (12), after Dully’s stepmother complained of Howard’s hyperactivity. In 2007 Howard Dully and Charles Fleming authored “My Lobotomy.” Links: USA, Medical, Psychiatry, Kids
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1938 |
In Italy Ugo Cerletti (1877-1963), neurosurgeon, and psychiatrist Lucio Bini (1908-1980) pioneered the use of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), electric shock, to cure patients of depression. Links: Italy, Medical, Psychiatry
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1940 May 1944 Dec |
In Austria approximately 30,000 physically and mentally disabled were killed at Hartheim Castle by gassing and lethal injection as part of the T-4 Euthanasia Program, named after the infamous Berlin address "Tiergartenstrasse 4." The castle was regularly visited by the psychiatrists Karl Brandt, Professor of Psychiatry at Würzburg University, and Werner Heyde. Links: Austria, Germany, Medical, Holocaust, Genocide, Psychiatry
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1941 Oct 1941 Nov |
Nazi doctor Aribert Heim, dubbed "Dr. Death," worked at the Mauthausen concentration camp near Linz, Austria, as camp doctor. Heim fled Germany in 1962. Links: Austria, Germany, Medical, Holocaust, Nazi
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1942 Jun 1 |
The US Supreme Court, in Skinner v. Oklahoma ex rel. Williamson, struck down Oklahoma’s Habitual Criminal Sterilization Act. Links: USA, Medical, Oklahoma, Supreme Court
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1944 Apr 27 |
Dr. H. Corwin Hinshaw (d.2000) first treated 4 tuberculosis-infected guinea pigs with the newly developed streptomycin antibiotic. The animals were cured. Hinshaw was nominated for the Nobel Prize in 1952 but the prize went to Dr. Selman a. Waksman of Rutgers, who discovered streptomycin. Links: USA, Microbiology, Medical
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1945 |
Charles L. Schepens (1912-2006), Belgian-born eye researcher, developed in London a binocular indirect opthalmoscope to allow a more thorough examination of the retina. Links: Belgium, Britain, Medical, Inventor
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1946 1948 |
US scientific researchers infected hundreds of Guatemalan mental patients with sexually transmitted diseases. The researchers were trying to determine whether the antibiotic penicillin could prevent syphilis infection, not just cure it. The practice only came to light in 2010 thanks to the work of an academic researcher. On Oct 1, 2010, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius issued a formal apology to Guatemala, and to Guatemalan residents of the United States. A 2011 report said 2,082 people were infected with syphilis, gonorrhea or chancroid. Previous studies had said about 1,300 people were exposed, including soldiers, prostitutes, prisoners and mental patients. Links: Guatemala, USA, Microbiology, Medical, Sex, Michigan
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1947 Nov |
For the first time in the history of leukemia, a complete remission of an acute leukemia was achieved using exchange transfusion developed by Dr. Marcel Bessis. Dr. Irving Wexler (d.1997 at 86) and Dr. Alexander Wiener later described the successful use of exchange transfusion, complete blood replacement, as a treatment for infants who suffered from anemia and jaundice due to the Rh factor co-discovered by Dr. Wiener. Links: Medical
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1947 |
Psychologist Theodore Sarbin suggested to a medical conference that medicine would benefit if the doctor could be replaced by a machine programmed to make judgments about the best treatment for a patient. He suggested using a Hollerith machine, an IBM computer of this time. Links: USA, Medical, Computer, Psychology
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