Today in Medical History

February 20 in Medical History

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

Events

4
  1. 1873University of California gets its first Medical School (UC/San Francisco)Healthcare institution / ProfessionOnThisDay
  2. 1905The U.S. Supreme Court upholds the constitutionality of Massachusetts's mandatory smallpox vaccination program in Jacobson v. Massachusetts.Public health / PolicyWikipedia
  3. 1979An earthquake cracks open the Sinila volcanic crater on the Dieng Plateau, releasing poisonous H2S gas and killing 149 villagers in the Indonesian province of Central Java.Public health / PolicyWikipedia
  4. 2022Britain's 95-year-old Queen Elizabeth II tests positive for COVID-19Notable person's healthOnThisDay

Born on this day

8
  1. 1759Johann Christian ReilGerman physician, physiologist, and anatomist (died 1813)Medical scientistWikipedia
  2. 1850Nérée BeaucheminCanadian physician and poet (Trois-Rivières), born in Yamachiche, Quebec (d. 1931)Physician / SurgeonOnThisDay
  3. 1889Hulusi BehçetTurkish dermatologist and physician (died 1948)Physician / SurgeonWikipedia
  4. 1901René DubosFrench-American microbiologist and author (1969 Pulitzer Prize, made famous "Think globally, act locally"), born in Saint-Brice-sous-Forêt, France (d. 1982)Medical scientistWikipedia
  5. 1928Donald LongmoreBritish cardiac surgeon (part of first UK heart transplant team), born in Birchington-on-Sea, England (d. 2023)Physician / SurgeonOnThisDay
  6. 1937Robert HuberGerman biochemist (Nobel Prize, 1988), born in Munich. GermanyMedical scientistWikipedia
  7. 1940Robin WeissBritish molecular biologist and virologist best known for his work on HIV, born in London (d. 2026)Medical scientistOnThisDay
  8. 1963Marilisa XenogiannakopoulouGreek politician (PASOK and Syriza), born in AthensHealth leader / ActivistWikipedia

Died on this day

7
  1. 1779Johannes BurmanDutch botanist, plant author and physician, dies at 71Physician / SurgeonOnThisDay
  2. 1855Joseph HumeScottish doctor and social reformer, dies at 78Physician / SurgeonOnThisDay
  3. 1907Henri MoissanFrench chemist who isolated the element "fluorine" from its compounds (Nobel 1906), dies of appendicitis at 54 (1852-1907)Dentist / Pharmacist / AlliedWikipedia
  4. 1982René DubosFrench-American microbiologist and author (1969 Pulitzer Prize, made famous "Think globally, act locally"), dies at 81Medical scientistOnThisDay
  5. 1983Fritz KöberleAustrian-Brazilian physician, pathologist, and scientific researcher, dies at 72Physician / SurgeonOnThisDay
  6. 2012Renato DulbeccoItalian-born American virologist (1975 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for oncoviruses work), dies at 97Medical scientistOnThisDay
  7. 2015John C. WillkeAmerican physician, author, and activist (born 1925)Physician / SurgeonWikipedia

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.