Today in Medical History

February 4 in Medical History

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

Observed today

1
  1. World Cancer DayHealth observanceWikipedia

Events

7
  1. 1866Mary Baker Eddy Opens BibleAmerican religious figure Mary Baker Eddy reportedly cures her injuries by opening a bibleNotable person's healthOnThisDay
  2. 1915Experiments to find cause of pellagra begin at Mississippi State PenitentiaryDiscovery / ResearchOnThisDay
  3. 1962St. Jude Children’s Research HospitalSt. Jude Children’s Research Hospital opens in Memphis, Tennessee; funding for the cancer fighting facility led by entertainer Danny ThomasHealthcare institution / ProfessionOnThisDay
  4. 2000The World Summit Against Cancer for the New Millennium, Charter of Paris is signed by the President of France, Jacques Chirac and the Director General of UNESCO, Koichiro Matsuura, initiating World Cancer Day which is held on February 4 every year.Public health / PolicyWikipedia
  5. 2020The COVID-19 pandemic causes all casinos in Macau to be closed down for 15 days.Disease / EpidemicWikipedia
  6. 2021First successful face and double hand transplant announced performed on 22 year-old Joe DiMeo in New YorkSurgery / Procedure / DeviceOnThisDay
  7. 2025First clinical trial approved to transfer genetically modified pigs kidneys into humans by the US Food and Drug AdministrationSurgery / Procedure / DeviceOnThisDay

Born on this day

6
  1. 1893Raymond DartAustralian paleoanthropologist (Australopithecus africanus), born in Brisbane, Queensland (1893-1988)Medical scientistWikipedia
  2. 1899Virginia M. AlexanderAmerican physician and founder of the Aspiranto Health Home (died 1949)Physician / SurgeonWikipedia
  3. 1940Ted StanleyAmerican anesthesiologist and medical entrepreneur (created the fentanyl lollipop), born in Manhattan, New York City (d. 2017)Physician / SurgeonOnThisDay
  4. 1947Walt OdetsAmerican psychologist and author (In the Shadow of the Epidemic: Being HIV-Negative in the Age of AIDS), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2026)Psychiatry / PsychologyOnThisDay
  5. 1952Li YinheChinese sociologist and sexologist, born in Beijing, ChinaPsychiatry / PsychologyOnThisDay
  6. 1960Pamelyn FerdinAmerican child actress (Happy Birthday Wanda June; The Odd Couple (TV series); The Tool Box Murders), registered nurse, and animal rights activist, born in Los Angeles, CaliforniaNurse / MidwifeOnThisDay

Died on this day

5
  1. 1847Henri DutrochetFrench physiologist (discovered & named process of osmosis), dies at 70Medical scientistOnThisDay
  2. 1958Frederik de MerodeBelgian prince and International Red Cross executive, dies of a thrombosis at 46Health leader / ActivistOnThisDay
  3. 1964Siegfried T. BokDutch neurobiologist and anatomist, known for the equi-volume principle, dies at 71Medical scientistOnThisDay
  4. 1987Carl RogersAmerican psychologist (Client-Centered Therapy), dies at 85Psychiatry / PsychologyWikipedia
  5. 2003Benyoucef Ben KheddaAlgerian politician (b. 1920)Dentist / Pharmacist / AlliedWikipedia

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.