Today in Medical History

November 3 in Medical History

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

Events

6
  1. 1752Handel's Failed OperationGeorge Frideric Handel undergoes an unsuccessful eye operationNotable person's healthOnThisDay
  2. 1931Alka-Seltzer is first sold after Dr. Miles Medical Company patented the trademark for the effervescent tabletDrug / VaccineOnThisDay
  3. 2019Delhi reaches worst pollution levels of the year, over 900 AQI, with authorities declaring public health emergencyPublic health / PolicyOnThisDay
  4. 2021US begins vaccinating children aged 5 to 11 years with a lower dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccineDrug / VaccineOnThisDay
  5. 2022Oregon approves drug-policy reform ballot legalizing psilocybin (magic) mushrooms for use in therapy, along with decriminalizes possession of small amounts of drugsDrug / VaccineOnThisDay
  6. 2024Lahore's air quality index exceeds 1000 due to crop burning in India, forcing Pakistan's second-largest city to close schools for a weekPublic health / PolicyOnThisDay

Born on this day

10
  1. 73David Ho1952 Taiwanese-American pioneering HIV/ AIDS researcher , born in Taichung, Taiwan (73 years old)Medical scientistOnThisDay
  2. 1505Achilles GasserGerman physician and astrologer (died 1577)Physician / SurgeonWikipedia
  3. 1749Daniel RutherfordScottish chemist and physician (isolation of nitrogen in 1772), born in Edinburgh, Scotland (d. 1819)Physician / SurgeonWikipedia
  4. 1854Jokichi TakamineJapanese-American biochemist who isolated adrenaline (epinephrine), which causes the body to respond to emergencies, the first pure hormone isolated from natural sources, born in Takaoka, Toyama, Japan (d. 1922)Medical scientistOnThisDay
  5. 1872Wilfred TrotterEnglish surgeon who was a pioneer in neurosurgery, popularized the concept of herd instinct, and was an authority in cancers of the head and neck, born in Coleford, Gloucestershire, England (d. 1939)Physician / SurgeonOnThisDay
  6. 1933Louis W. SullivanAmerican healthcare leader, US Secretary of Health & Human Services (1989-93), born in Atlanta, GeorgiaPhysician / SurgeonOnThisDay
  7. 1949Stephen OliverEnglish biochemist and academicMedical scientistWikipedia
  8. 1950James RothmanAmerican Biochemist and Nobel Laureate (2013) for work on vesicle trafficking, born in Haverhill, MassachusettsMedical scientistOnThisDay
  9. 1952David HoTaiwanese-American scientistPhysician / SurgeonWikipedia
  10. 1955Anne MiltonEnglish nurse and politicianNurse / MidwifeWikipedia

Died on this day

8
  1. 1914Georg TraklAustrian poet (Totentag), dies of a cocaine overdose at 27Dentist / Pharmacist / AlliedWikipedia
  2. 1933Émile RouxFrench physician , bacteriologist, immunologist who developed the 1st diphtheria vaccine and co-founded the Pasteur Institute, dies at 79 (1853-1933)Medical scientistWikipedia
  3. 1957Wilhelm ReichAustrian-American psychoanalyst (coined term "sexual revolution", worked with Freud), dies at 60Psychiatry / PsychologyWikipedia
  4. 1986E. Cuyler HammondAmerican epidemiologist (first to link smoking with lung cancer), dies at 74Medical scientistOnThisDay
  5. 1990Nusret FişekTurkish physician and politician, Turkish Minister of Health (born 1914)Physician / SurgeonWikipedia
  6. 1995Gordon S. FahrniCanadian physician and President of the Canadian Medical Association, dies at 108Physician / SurgeonWikipedia
  7. 2013William PollackBritish medical researcher who helped develop the Rh disease vaccine (RhoGAM), dies at 87Medical scientistOnThisDay
  8. 2022Lois CurtisAmerican artist, disability rights advocate and lead plaintiff in Olmstead v. L.C (1999), dies of cancer at 55Health 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.