Today in Medical History

June 15 in Medical History

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

Observed today

1
  1. Christian feast day: — Vitus (Guy), Modestus and CrescentiaHealth observanceWikipedia

Events

14
  1. 1667The first fully documented human blood transfusion is performed by French physician Dr. Jean-Baptiste Denys when a small amount of sheep blood is transfused into a 15-year-old boy, who survives the procedureSurgery / Procedure / DeviceOnThisDay
  2. 18831st National Health InsuranceGermany becomes the first country to introduce a national system of social and health insurance passing "The Act on Health Insurance for Blue-collar Workers" under Otto von BismarckPublic health / PolicyOnThisDay
  3. 1907Typhoid Mary IdentifiedResearcher George Soper publishes the results of his investigation into recent typhoid outbreaks in the New York area and announces that Mary Mallon [ Typhoid Mary ] is the likely source of the outbreakDisease / EpidemicOnThisDay
  4. 1967Reagan Liberalizes AbortionGovernor Reagan signs liberalized California abortion billPublic health / PolicyOnThisDay
  5. 1983Supreme Court strikes down state and local restrictions on abortionPublic health / PolicyOnThisDay
  6. 1997British model Naomi Campbell hospitalized due to drug overdoseNotable person's healthOnThisDay
  7. 2018Elizabeth Holmes Charged with FraudTheranos founder Elizabeth Holmes charged with fraud over company's blood testsPublic health / PolicyOnThisDay
  8. 2020New COVID-19 cluster of more than 100 cases in Beijing called a 'significant event' by WHODisease / EpidemicOnThisDay
  9. 2021US death toll from COVID-19 tops 600,000 (Johns Hopkins), with 65% of adults vaccinated with at least one doseDisease / EpidemicOnThisDay
  10. 2021North Korea Warns of Food CrisisNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un warns of possible food shortages and COVID-19 restrictions while addressing national conferenceDisease / EpidemicOnThisDay
  11. 2021NY Lifts RestrictionsNY Governor Andrew Cuomo announces a "return to life as we know it" lifting all COVID-19 restrictions after the state passes 70% vaccinated with one doseDisease / EpidemicOnThisDay
  12. 2022Black Death, the 14th century plague, originated in Kyrgyzstan, according to new DNA research taken from burials at Lake Issyk KulDiscovery / ResearchOnThisDay
  13. 2023Record-breaking outbreak of dengue fever in Peru has caused 248 deaths and over 146,000 cases, forcing Health Minister Rosa Gutiérrez, to resignDisease / EpidemicOnThisDay
  14. 2023Partygate ReportDamning report by UK government committee finds former PM Boris Johnson misled parliament over 'Partygate' Covid-19 breachesPublic health / PolicyOnThisDay

Born on this day

8
  1. 1777David Daniel DavisWelsh physician and academic (died 1841)Physician / SurgeonWikipedia
  2. 1822Alfonso CortiItalian anatomist (died 1876)Medical scientistWikipedia
  3. 1898Hubertus StrugholdGerman-American physiologist and academic (died 1986)Medical scientistWikipedia
  4. 1902Erik EriksonAmerican developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst (coined the phrase "identity crisis"), born in Frankfurt, Germany (d. 1994)Psychiatry / PsychologyWikipedia
  5. 1915Thomas Huckle WellerAmerican biologist and virologist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2008)Medical scientistWikipedia
  6. 1924Hédi FriedSwedish author and psychologist (died 2022)Psychiatry / PsychologyWikipedia
  7. 1950Uğur ErdenerTurkish ophthalmologist and professorPhysician / SurgeonWikipedia
  8. 1950Juliana Azumah-MensahGhanaian nurse and politicianNurse / MidwifeWikipedia

Died on this day

5
  1. 1941Otfrid FoersterGerman neurologist, dies at 67Physician / SurgeonWikipedia
  2. 1971Wendell Meredith StanleyAmerican chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)Medical scientistWikipedia
  3. 1993Mahfoud BoucebiAlgerian psychiatrist, murderedPsychiatry / PsychologyOnThisDay
  4. 2016[Allen] Richard SelzerAmerican surgeon and writer (Imelda; Confessions of a Knife), dies at 87Physician / SurgeonOnThisDay
  5. 2025Maximilian FinkAustrian-American neurologist, psychiatrist and advocate for electroconvulsive therapy, dies at 102Psychiatry / PsychologyOnThisDay

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.