Today in Medical History

December 4 in Medical History

23 entries: discoveries, epidemics, drugs and the people who shaped medicine.

Events

5
  1. 1930Vatican approves rhythm method for birth controlPublic health / PolicyOnThisDay
  2. 1961Contraceptive PillThe female contraceptive 'pill' becomes available on the National Health Service in BritainDrug / VaccineOnThisDay
  3. 1988Actor Gary Busey critically injured in motorcycle crashNotable person's healthOnThisDay
  4. 2018First successful birth resulting from uterus transplant from a deceased donor in São Paulo, BrazilSurgery / Procedure / DeviceOnThisDay
  5. 2024United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson is shot and killed outside a hotel in Manhattan, New York, in a targeted attackHealthcare institution / ProfessionOnThisDay

Born on this day

8
  1. 1727Johann Gottfried ZinnGerman anatomist and botanist (died 1759)Medical scientistWikipedia
  2. 1800Emil AarestrupDanish physician and poet (Ritornellen), born in Copenhagen, Denmark (d. 1831)Physician / SurgeonOnThisDay
  3. 1865Edith CavellBritish nurse in World War I who was executed by Germany, born in Swardeston, Norfolk, England (1865-1915)Nurse / MidwifeWikipedia
  4. 1875Agnes Forbes BlackadderScottish medical doctor (died 1964)Physician / SurgeonWikipedia
  5. 1899Karl-Günther HeimsothGerman physician and politician (died 1934)Physician / SurgeonWikipedia
  6. 1908Alfred HersheyAmerican biologist, worked with bacteriophages (Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1969), born in Owosso, Michigan (d. 1997)Medical scientistWikipedia
  7. 1929Şakir EczacıbaşıTurkish pharmacist, photographer, and businessman (died 2010)Dentist / Pharmacist / AlliedWikipedia
  8. 1945Roberta Lynn BondarCanadian neurologist and astronaut (STS 42), born in Sault Sainte Marie, OntarioPhysician / SurgeonWikipedia

Died on this day

10
  1. 1574Rheticus [Georg Joachim de Porris]Italian-Austrian mathematician (trigonometric tables), astronomer, physician, and cartographer, dies at 60 [some sources date death as Dec 5, 1576]Physician / SurgeonOnThisDay
  2. 1680Thomas BartholinDanish physician, mathematician, and theologian discovered the lymphatic system, dies at 64Physician / SurgeonWikipedia
  3. 1798Luigi GalvaniItalian anatomist and physicist ("animal electricity", gave the term "galvanize"), dies at 61Medical scientistWikipedia
  4. 1841David Daniel DavisWelsh-English physician and academic (born 1777)Physician / SurgeonWikipedia
  5. 1932Edmund WojtyłaPolish doctor (born 1906)Physician / SurgeonWikipedia
  6. 1935Charles RichetFrench physiologist (Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1913 for work on anaphylaxis), dies at 85Medical scientistWikipedia
  7. 1945Thomas Hunt MorganAmerican evolutionary biologist, geneticist and embryologist (Nobel Prize 1933), dies at 79Medical scientistWikipedia
  8. 1948Karl BonhoefferGerman psychiatrist and neurologist (resisted Nazi's Aktion T4 extermination campaign), dies at 80Psychiatry / PsychologyOnThisDay
  9. 1984John RockAmerican obstetrician and gynecologist who co-developed the 1st birth control pill, dies at 94Physician / SurgeonOnThisDay
  10. 2017Alastair BellinghamBritish haematologist and president of the Royal College of Pathologists (1993-96), dies at 79Physician / SurgeonOnThisDay

Sources: onthisday.com and Wikipedia's “On this day” (text under CC BY-SA 4.0), screened for medical relevance. Each entry links to its source.