Today in Medical History

January 18 in Medical History

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

Events

6
  1. 1896First demonstration of an X-ray machine in the US (New York City)Surgery / Procedure / DeviceWikipedia
  2. 1977Scientists identify a previously unknown bacterium as the cause of the mysterious Legionnaires' disease.Discovery / ResearchWikipedia
  3. 1986That's What Friends Are ForAIDS charity record "That's What Friends Are For" by Dionne Warwick with Elton John , Gladys Knight , and Stevie Wonder , hits #1Public health / PolicyOnThisDay
  4. 1992Comedian Pat McCormick injured in a car accidentNotable person's healthOnThisDay
  5. 2021Brazil begins vaccinations for COVID-19 with the world's second-highest death toll at 209,000Drug / VaccineOnThisDay
  6. 2022France records a record 464,769 new COVID-19 cases with other European countries also registering record numbers amid Omicron's spreadDisease / EpidemicOnThisDay

Born on this day

11
  1. 1734Caspar Friedrich WolffGerman physiologist and embryologist (died 1794)Medical scientistWikipedia
  2. 1779Peter Mark RogetBritish lexicographer ( Roget 's Thesaurus) and inventor (slide rule, pocket chessboard), born in London (1779-1869)Physician / SurgeonWikipedia
  3. 1842A. A. AmesAmerican physician and politician, Mayor of Minneapolis (died 1911)Physician / SurgeonWikipedia
  4. 1856Daniel Hale WilliamsAmerican surgeon and cardiologist (died 1931)Physician / SurgeonWikipedia
  5. 1858Daniel Hale WilliamsAmerican heart surgeon who performed the 1st open heart surgery , born in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania (1858-1931)Physician / SurgeonOnThisDay
  6. 1892Paul RostockGerman surgeon, born in Kręcko, Poland (d. 1956)Physician / SurgeonWikipedia
  7. 1901Arie QueridoDutch social psychiatrist, born in Amsterdam, Netherlands (d. 1983)Psychiatry / PsychologyOnThisDay
  8. 1912John CadeAustralian psychiatrist, discovered the psychiatric benefits of lithium in 1949, born in Murtoa, Australia (d. 1980)Psychiatry / PsychologyOnThisDay
  9. 1918Gustave GingrasFrench Canadian physician, born in Montreal, Canada (d. 1996)Physician / SurgeonWikipedia
  10. 1953B. K. MisraIndian neurosurgeonPhysician / SurgeonWikipedia
  11. 1984Michael KearneyAmerican child prodigy, born in Honolulu, HawaiiMedical scientistWikipedia

Died on this day

4
  1. 1854Judah TouroAmerican philanthropist (Mount Sinai Hospital in NY), dies at 78Health leader / ActivistOnThisDay
  2. 1977Paul NordoffAmerican composer (Every Soul Is a Circus), and music therapist (Nordoff-Robbins method), dies at 67Dentist / Pharmacist / AlliedOnThisDay
  3. 1993M Eleonore Lippits1st Dutch female missionary doctor, dies at 85Physician / SurgeonOnThisDay
  4. 1995Adolf ButenandtGerman biochemist (Nobel Prize for Chemistry 1939 for work on sex hormones), dies at 91Medical scientistWikipedia

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.