Today in Medical History

January 29 in Medical History

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

Events

12
  1. 1785Governor of Massachusetts ResignsIn a surprising announcement, John Hancock resigns as Governor of Massachusetts, allegedly due to his failing healthNotable person's healthOnThisDay
  2. 1896American Emile Grubbe is the first doctor to use radiation treatment for breast cancerSurgery / Procedure / DeviceOnThisDay
  3. 1929Seeing Eye Guide Dog organization forms in USAHealthcare institution / ProfessionOnThisDay
  4. 1959Smog pollution with readings higher than the 1952 'Great Smog of London' hits London, with many suffering chest and lung-related illnessesPublic health / PolicyOnThisDay
  5. 1993Percy Lavon Julian StampUS postal service issues a stamp commemorating chemist Percy Lavon JulianDiscovery / ResearchOnThisDay
  6. 1998Woman's Clinic in Birmingham, Alabama bombed, 1 killedPublic health / PolicyOnThisDay
  7. 2014Scientists discover how to convert normal cells into stem cells in miceDiscovery / ResearchOnThisDay
  8. 2020Number of COVID-19 cases passes those of SARS with over 7,700 cases in China confirmed, with 170 deathsDisease / EpidemicOnThisDay
  9. 2021Johnson & Johnson's Janssen single-dose vaccine shown to be 66% effective in trials, with complete protection against hospitalization and deathDrug / VaccineOnThisDay
  10. 2021Novavax vaccine shows 89% efficacy in UK trials, including against UK variantDrug / VaccineOnThisDay
  11. 2022Canadian truck drivers and pedestrians gathered to rally and protest on Parliament Hill against Canadian COVID-19 restrictions, which caused traffic and closures around the city.Disease / EpidemicWikipedia
  12. 2024Brain-Reading DeviceElon Musk tweets his company Neuralink has implanted a ‘brain-reading’ device into a person for the first timeSurgery / Procedure / DeviceOnThisDay

Born on this day

4
  1. 1881Alice Catherine EvansAmerican microbiologist (died 1975)Medical scientistWikipedia
  2. 1920Alec CoppenBritish pioneering psychiatrist (serotonin theory of depression), born in London, England (d. 2019)Psychiatry / PsychologyOnThisDay
  3. 1947Linda B. BuckAmerican scientist, (2004 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine - olfactory receptor), born in Seattle, WashingtonMedical scientistWikipedia
  4. 1965David AgusAmerican physician and authorPhysician / SurgeonWikipedia

Died on this day

5
  1. 1951James Bridie [Osborne Henry Mavor]Scottish dramatist, dies at 63Physician / SurgeonWikipedia
  2. 1966Josef WincklerGerman dentist and writer (Tolle Bomberg), dies at 84Dentist / Pharmacist / AlliedOnThisDay
  3. 1982Rudolph PetersBritish biochemist (born 1889)Medical scientistWikipedia
  4. 1982Roger StanierCanadian microbiologist (born 1916)Medical scientistWikipedia
  5. 2026Peter RansleyBritish screenwriter (Minor Complications) and co-founder of Action for Victims of Medical Accidents, dies of bronchopneumonia at 94Health leader / ActivistOnThisDay

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.