Medical Advances Chronology

Chemist Joseph Priestley identifies gas that would later be named oxygen by Antoine Lavoisier.

Ref: 10

1775

Jul 17

First military hospital approved.

Ref: 5

1780

Apr 28

First recorded advertisement for abortion clinic in London Morning Post.

Ref: 10

1788

May 26

Mary Clark of England gives birth to a baby without a brain.

Ref: 5

1791

Jan 14

Calvin Phillips became shortest known adult male (67cm; 2'2"), is born.

Ref: 5

1794

Jan 14

Dr Jessee Bennet of Edom VA, performs first successful Cesarean section operation on his wife.

Ref: 5

1796

English physician Edward Jenner administersthe first vaccination against smallpox to an 8-year-old boy.

Ref: 70

1799

Jan 21

Edward Jenner's smallpox vaccination is introduced.

Ref: 5

1809

The first abdominal surgical procedure was performed -- in Danville, Kentucky. The patient was Jane Todd Crawford and the operation was performed without the aid of an anesthetic.

Ref: 4

1810

Illinois passes first state vaccination legislation in US.

Ref: 5

1813

Feb 27

First federal vaccination legislation enacted.

Ref: 5

Office of Surgeon General of the US army is established.

Ref: 5

1816

Sep 13

Rene Laennec uses a rolled up sheet of paper to better hear a patient's hear and invents the stethescope.

Ref: 17

1817

In Hartford, CT, American clergyman Thomas H. Gallaudet, 30, and deaf Frenchman Laurent Clerc opened the first American school for the deaf, called the American Asylum.

Ref: 5

1818

US Medical Corp forms.

Ref: 5

1820

Aug 14

The New York Eye Infirmary, the first U.S. eye hospital, opens in New York City.

Dec 15

First general pharmacopoeia in US published, Boston.

Ref: 5

1821

The Philadelphia College of Apothecaries established the first pharmacy college -- in Philadelphia, PA.

Ref: 4

Nov 09

First US pharmacy college holds 1st classes, Philadelphia.

Ref: 5

1822

Mar 09

Charles M. Graham of New York City receives a patent for artificial teeth.

Ref: 4

Jun 09

Charles Graham receives first patent for false teeth.

Ref: 5

1829

Mar 02

New England Asylum for the Blind, first in US, incorporated, Boston.

Ref: 5

Mar 14

Charles Charlesworth England (dies at 7 of old age), is born.

Ref: 5

Mar 29

Ritta & Christina Siamese twins, in Sardinia, is born.

Ref: 5

1831

The first appearance of Asiatic Cholera in England, at Sutherland.

Ref: 62

1832

Feb 06

First appearance of cholera at Edinburgh, Scotland.

Ref: 5

First appearance of cholera at London.

Ref: 5

Jun 28

First cholera epidemic breaks out in U.S.

Ref: 10

Opium exempted from federal tariff duty.

Ref: 5

1833

Mar 16

Susan Hayhurst becomes the first woman to graduate from a pharmacy college.

Ref: 2

1834

First US dental society organized (NY).

Ref: 5

1837

Feb 11

American Physiological Society organizes in Boston.

Ref: 5

1840

Feb 01

Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, first in US, incorporated.

Ref: 5

Aug 18

The organization of the American Society of Dental Surgeons was founded in New York City. Among the organizers was Dr. Chapin A. Harris of Baltimore, Maryland.

Ref: 4

1841

Dec 31

Alabama becomes first state to license dental surgeons.

Ref: 5

1842

Mar 30

Dr. Crawford W. Long of Georgia first uses ether as an anesthetic during a minor operation (cyst removal). Ref

1844

Dec 11

Dr. Horace Wells of Hartford, CT had a tooth extracted. Ouch! But wait. He became the first to receive an anesthetic for this dental procedure. Ah, muth bether, Dothtuh.

Ref: 4

1845

Jan 10

(date uncertain) Dr. Horace Wells of Hartford, CT attempts to demonstrate nitrous oxide as an anesthetic at Massachusetts General Hospital. The demonstration failed, perhaps due to an insufficient dose of nitrous oxide. Ref

Dec 27

Dr. Crawford Williamson Long used anesthesia for childbirth for the first time, when he delivered his own child in Jefferson, Georgia.

Ref: 4

Dec 28

Ether first used in childbirth in US, Jefferson GA.

Ref: 5

1846

Sep 30

Dentist William Morton used ether as an anesthetic for the first time on a patient in his Boston office.

Ref: 70

Sep 30

In his Boston office, Dr. Charles T. Jackson painlessly removes a tooth from city merchant Eben H. Frost. Ref

Oct 16

Dentist (he never attended dental or medical school) William Morton uses ether as an anesthetic for the first time on a patient at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Morton administered the anesthetic to Gilbert Abbott, a printer who had come to Boston’s Massachusetts General Hospital for treatment of a vascular tumor on his jaw. Ref

Nov 04

An artificial leg is patented by B.F. Palmer of Meredith, NH.

Ref: 4

Nov 29

Doctors Jackson and Martin of Boston publish a paper extolling the use of ether in surgery.

Ref: 62

1847

May 05

The American Medical Association was organized in Philadelphia, PA.

Ref: 4

May 07

The American Medical Association is formed in Philadelphia.

Ref: 2

Nov 12

Chloroform first used as an anaesthetic in Britain operation.

Ref: 10

1848

Sep 13

The first lobotomy is performed.

Ref: 62

Oct 16

First US homeopathic medical college opens in Pennsylvania.

Ref: 5

Nov 01

The first medical school for women in the United States opens in Boston, Massachusetts, with two professors and an enrollment of twelve pupils. Known as the Boston Female Medical School, the institution was founded through the efforts of Samuel Gregory. It was ultimately incorporated as the New England Female Medical College and merged with the Boston University School of Medicine in 1874.

Ref: 3

Nov 23

Female Medical Educational Society founded in Boston.

Ref: 5

1849

Jan 23

English-born Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman in America to receive medical degree, from the Medical Institution of Geneva, N.Y.

Ref: 70

Mar 16

Reverend James E Smith became father at 100 with woman 64 years younger, is born.

Ref: 5

Oct 19

Elizabeth Blackwell becomes 1st woman in US to receive medical degree.

Ref: 5

1851

May 06

Dr. John Gorie has his patent for a refridgerator granted. Ice was used in hospitals. (Ref: Reference Desk of the Xenia Branch of the the Greene County Public Library)

Jul 11

Millie and Christine NC, siamese twins, is born.

Ref: 5

1852

Jan 15

Mt. Sinai Hospital was incorporated by Sampson Simson and eight associates in NY City. It was the first Jewish hospital in the U.S.

Ref: 5

Feb 15

Great Ormond St Hospital for Sick Children, London, admits first patient.

Ref: 5

1853

Aug 24

The American Pharmaceutical Association held its first convention.

Ref: 4

1854

May 15

Asylum for Inebriates is founded in Binghamton NY.

Ref: 62

Oct 15

Florence Nightingale is solicited to organize nurses in Crimea.

Ref: 62

Nov 04

Florence Nightingale and 38 nurses arrived at the Barrack Hospital in Scutari in the Crimea.

Ref: 2

1855

Louisiana establishes first health board to regulate quarantine.

Ref: 5

1860

Aug 05

Joseph Carey Merrick "Elephant Man", is born.

Ref: 5

1861

Mar 22

First US nursing school chartered.

Ref: 5

May 29

Dorothea Dix offers help in setting up hospitals for Union Army.

Ref: 5

1862

Dec 18

The first orthopedic hospital was organized -- in NY City. It was called the Hospital for Ruptured and Crippled.

Ref: 4

1863

Jan 02

Lucia Zarate became lightest known adult human (2.1 kg at 17), is born.

Ref: 5

Apr 13

Hospital for Ruptured & Crippled in New York is first orthopedic hospital.

Ref: 5

1864

Mar 01

Rebecca Lee became the first black woman to receive an American medical degree, from the New England Female Medical College in Boston.

Ref: 5

1865

Jun 29

Shigechiyo Izumi achieved oldest authenticated age (120 y 237 d), is born.

Ref: 5

Jul 28

The American Dental Association proposed its first code of ethics. Procedures like using a welder’s torch to shrink swollen gums were banned. The old string-on-the-doorknob trick to pull loosened teeth was also frowned upon.

Ref: 4

Aug 12

Joseph Lister became the first doctor to use disinfectant during surgery.

Ref: 4

Sep 01

Joseph Lister performs first antiseptic surgery.

Ref: 5

1866

Lucy B. Hobbs becomes the first woman to graduate from a dental school, the Ohio College of Dental Surgery in Cincinnati.

Ref: 5

Mar 28

First ambulance goes into service.

Ref: 5

May 24

Armando Frid Argentina, live until July 28 1990 (124 years), is born.

Ref: 5

Sep 08

James and Jennie Bushnell became the proud parents of sextuplets in Chicago, IL. Three boys and three girls were born. Though two babies died, the surviving four lived long lives. This was the first recorded birth of sextuplets.

Ref: 4

1867

Apr 24

Fannie Thomas became oldest known American (113 y 273 d at death), is born.

Ref: 5

Jun 15

First gallstone operation performed by Dr. John Stough Bobbs in Indpls.

Ref: 10

Jul 17

Harvard School of Dental Medicine was established in Boston, MA. It was the first dental school in America.

Ref: 4

1870

Jan 08

Joseph Lister publishes the results of his study of antiseptic surgical methods. His use of carbolic acid to sterilize instruments and wounds trebles the survival rate of his patients.

Ref: 17

1871

Mar 05

Maria do Carmo Geronimo Brazilian lives to be at least 126, is born.

Ref: 5

1873

Feb 20

University of California gets its first Medical School (University of California/San Francisco).

Ref: 5

Nov 04

Dr. John B. Beers of San Francisco, CA patents a gold crown for teeth.

Ref: 4

1874

Jun 22

Dr. Andrew Taylor Still, of Macon, Missouri, finds science of osteopathy.

Ref: 5

1875

Jan 26

George F. Green of Kalamazoo, Michigan patented the electric dental drill for sawing, filing, dressing and polishing teeth.

Ref: 4

Jeanne Louise Calment France, world's oldest woman (died at 122), is born.

Ref: 5

Jul 04

Giovanni & Giacomo Tocci Italy, siamese twins, are born.

Ref: 5

Jul 19

Emma Abbott, a floating hospital for sick kids, makes trial trip, NYC.

Ref: 5

Nov 16

Dr. William G. Arlington Bonwill of Philadelphia, PA patented the dental mallet used to impact gold into cavities.

Ref: 4

1876

Feb 26

Pauline Musters shortest known adult (58.9 cm, 1' 11.2"), is born.

Ref: 5

Nov 07

Meharry Medical College established at Central TN College.

Ref: 5

1878

May 11

Mr Reyskens oldest male resident of Netherlands, ever, is born.

Ref: 5

1879

May 23

Iowa State College, located in Ames, IA, established the first veterinary school in the U.S.

Ref: 4

1880

Apr 27

Francis Clarke and M.G. Foster patented the electrical hearing aid.

Ref: 4

1881

California becomes first state to pass plant quarantine legislation.

Ref: 5

May 21

American Red Cross organized by Clara Barton in Washington, D.C.

Ref: 5

US Quarantine Station authorized for Angel Island, SF Bay.

Ref: 5

Aug 13

The first African-American nursing school opens at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia.

Ref: 2

1882

First Dutch female physician Aletta Jacobs opens office.

Ref: 5

Mar 22

Professor Robert Koch announced the discovery of the tuberculosis germ -- in Berlin, Germany.

Ref: 4

Mar 24

German scientist Robert Koch announces in Berlin that he had discovered the bacillus responsible for tuberculosis.

Ref: 70

1883

Mar 16

Susan Hayhurst graduates from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy. She is the first woman pharmacy graduate.

Ref: 39

1884

Apr 22

John van Capel oldest man in Netherlands (Died Sept 3, 1992), is born.

Ref: 5

1885

Dr. William W. Grant of Davenport, IA, performed what's believed to have been the first appendectomy, on 22-year-old Mary Gartside.

Ref: 4

Jul 06

Louis Pasteur, famous for discovering the pasteurization process, made history by accomplishing the first effective antirabies inoculation (on a boy bitten by an infected dog).

Ref: 4

1886

The first magazine published for nurses debuted -- in New York City. Not surprisingly, the new publication was called "The Nightingale".

Ref: 24

Apr 24

R Pelgrom oldest Dutch man (died Apr 15, 1994, 9 days short of 108), is born.

Ref: 5

1887

First US bacteriology laboratory opens (Brooklyn).

Ref: 5

Anne Mansfield Sullivan arrived at the Alabama home of Captain and Mrs. Arthur H. Keller to become the teacher of their blind and deaf six-year-old daughter, Helen. .

Ref: 5

1888

Spurred on by press reports of the impending pestilence, the state legislature passed a law, signed by Governor David B. Hill, which reformed the state's Quarantine Board and allocated $80,000 for upkeep on the Quarantine Station.

Ref: 70

Jun 29

Professor Frederick Treves performs the first appendectomy in England.

Ref: 2

Sep 07

Edith Eleanor McLean was the first baby to be placed in an incubator. She weighed 2 pounds, 7 ounces. Originally, the incubator was called a hatching cradle.

Ref: 4

1889

Jan 23

Dr Daniel Hale Williams forms Provident Hospital in Chicago.

Ref: 5

May 01

Bayer introduces aspirin in powder form (Germany).

Ref: 5

1892

First cattle tuberculosis test in US made, Villa Nova PA.

Ref: 5

Jul 08

American Psychological Association organized, Worcester, Mass.

Ref: 5

Aug 30

The Moravia, a passenger ship arriving from Germany, brings cholera to the United States.

Ref: 2

1893

Dr. Daniel Hale Williams performs the first successful open-heart surgery, without anesthesia, in Chicago IL.

Ref: 39

1894

Jun 17

First US poliomyelitis epidemic breaks out, Rutland, VT.

Ref: 5

Nov 01

A vaccine for diphtheria is announced by Dr Roux of Paris.

Ref: 5

1895

Jun 20

First female doctor of science earned (Caroline Willard Baldwin) from Cornell University.

Ref: 5

Sep 18

Daniel David Palmer gives the first chiropractic adjustment to Harvey Lillard in Davenport, Iowa (now the home of Palmer Chiropractic College).

Ref: 4

Nov 08

Wilhelm Roentjen discovers X-rays at the University of Wurzburg in Germany.

Ref: 5

Dec 22

Willhelm von Rontgen makes first radiograph or X-ray of his wife's hand.

Ref: 10

1896

Wilhelm Röntgen announces his discovery of x-rays.

Ref: 5

Jan 05

An Austrian newspaper ("Wiener Presse") reported the discovery by German physicist Wilhelm Roentgen of a type of radiation that came to be known as "X-rays."

Ref: 5

H.L. Smith takes the first x-ray photograph in Davidson, NC. It was a hand with a bullet in it.

Ref: 4

Jan 18

The x-ray machine was exhibited (in New York City) for the first time. To see the machine, one had to pay a 25¢ admission charge. To see an x-ray machine at your friendly neighborhood doctor’s or dentist’s office will set you back at least $65 today.

Ref: 4

Jan 29

Emile Grubbe is first doctor to use radiation treatment for breast cancer.

Ref: 5

1897

Jul 08

Harbor Hospital formally opens.

Ref: 5

Aug 20

Mosquitos spread malaria, discovers Sir Ronald Ross in Hydrabad.

Ref: 10

1899

Aspirin is patented following Felix Hoffman's discoveries about the properties of acetylsalicylic acid.

Ref: 2

Dec 12

First case of plague on Oahu HI.

Ref: 5

1900

Veteran's Hospital at Fort Miley is established.

Ref: 5

A commission that included Dr. Walter Reed began the fight against the deadly disease yellow fever.

Ref: 5

1901

Feb 02

Female Army Nurse Corps established as a permanent organization.

Ref: 5

Nov 15

Battery driven hearing aid patented by Miller Reese of New York.

Ref: 10

1902

Smallpox vaccination becomes obligatory in France.

Ref: 2

Dr Harvey Cushing, 1st US brain surgeon, does his 1st brain operation.

Ref: 5

Report published by Walter Reed and Dr. James Carroll:Yellow fever is spread by mosquitos.

Ref: 10

1903

North Carolina becomes 1st state requiring registration of nurses.

Ref: 5

Dr Harry Plotz discovers vaccine against typhoid (New York NY).

Ref: 5

1904

May 06

American Lung Association holds its first meeting.

Ref: 5

Jun 06

The National Tuberculosis Association was formed in Atlantic City, NJ.

Ref: 4

Oct 13

Sigmund Freud's The Interpretation of Dreams is published.

Ref: 2

1905

Mar 21

Sterilization legislation was passed in the State of Pennsylvania. The governor, however, vetoed the measure.

Ref: 4

Apr 19

Researcher Jos. Goldberg proves pellagra is caused by poor nutrition; can be cured by B vitamins.

Ref: 10

1907

Jan 15

Gold dental inlays first described by William Taggart, who invented them.

Ref: 5

Mar 09

First involuntary sterilization law enacted, Indiana.

Ref: 5

May 27

The Bubonic Plague breaks out in San Francisco.

Ref: 2

1909

Feb 09

1st federal legislation prohibiting narcotics (opium).

Ref: 5

Mar 01

First US university school of nursing established, University of Minnesota.

Ref: 5

Apr 01

Opium imports banned in America.

Ref: 10

1910

Jun 22

German bacteriologist Paul Ehrlich announces a definitive cure for syphilis.

Ref: 2

Over 2.5 million plague victims are reported in the An-Hul province of China.

Ref: 2

1911

Feb 06

First old-age home opened in Prescott AZ.

Ref: 5

Mar 12

Dr. Fletcher of the Rockefeller Institute discovers the cause of infantile paralysis.

Ref: 2

1912

Jul 15

National Health Insurance Act comes into force in Britain

Ref: 5

Oct 09

Millie & Christine Siamese twins, die at 61.

Ref: 5

Nov 18

Cholera breaks out in Constantinople, in the Ottoman Empire.

Ref: 2

American College of Surgeons incorporates in Springfield, IL.

Ref: 5

1913

Nov 17

The first US dental hygienists course is established, Bridgeport, CT.

Ref: 5

1914

Doctor Fillatre of Paris, France successfully separates Siamese twins.

Ref: 2

Mar 27

First successful blood transfusion (in Brussels).

Ref: 5

1915

Antoni van Leeuwenhoek's Hospital in Amsterdam opens.

Ref: 5

Feb 04

Experiments to find cause of pellagra begin at Mississippi Penitentiary.

Ref: 5

1916

Margaret Sanger opens the first birth control clinic in Brooklyn, NY.

Ref: 51

May 02

US President Wilson signs Harrison Drug Act.

Ref: 5

1918

Mar 11

107 soldiers in Kansas become ill with "Spanish" flu, first of pandemic which kills 1.5 m. in US.

Ref: 10

Apr 01

Killer flu outbreak in America; 1.5 million Americans to die; 20 million around world in pandemic.

Ref: 10

Oct 22

The cities of Baltimore and Washington run out of coffins during the "Spanish Inflenza" epidemic.

Ref: 2

Nov 17

Influenza deaths reported in the United States have far exceeded World War I casualties.

Ref: 2

1919

Feb 27

American Association for the Hard of Hearing formed (New York NY).

Ref: 5

Dec 23

The first ship designed to be used as an ambulance for the transport of sick and wounded patients was launched. The hospital ship was named USS Relief and had 515 beds.

Ref: 4

1921

Jan 21

Barney Clark, the first man to receive a permanent artificial heart, is born.

Ref: 5

Toronto's Dr Banting & Dr Best announce discovery of insulin.

Ref: 5

Dr Marie Stopes opens Britain's first birth control clinic (London).

Ref: 5

Jul 27

Canadians Sir Frederick Banting and Charles Best isolate insulin at the University of Toronto.

Ref: 2

Aug 22

Drs Frederic Banting and Charles H. Best announce discovery of insulin first isolated on July 27.

Ref: 70

1922

Jan 11

Insulin first used to treat diabetes (Leonard Thompson, 14, of Canada).

Ref: 5

Frederick Banting, John MacLeod & Charles Best discover insulin.

Ref: 5

Nov 15

It is announced that Dr. Alexis Carrel has discovered white corpuscles.

Ref: 2

1923

Jan 05

The U.S. Senate debates the benefits of Peyote for the American Indian.

Ref: 2

Apr 07

First brain tumor operation under local anesthetic performed (Beth Israel Hospital in NYC) by Dr K Winfield Ney.

Ref: 5

Insulin became available for general use on this day. It was first discovered in 1922.

Ref: 4

1925

French psychologist Emil Coué brings his self-esteem therapy to US "Every day in every way I am getting better & better".

Ref: 5

Feb 02

Dogsleds reach Nome with emergency diphtheria serum after 1000-km.

Ref: 5

1926

May 30

Christine Jorgensen (born George), pioneer transsexual, is born.

Ref: 5

Jun 04

Robert Earl Hughes became heaviest known human (486 kg), is born.

Ref: 5

Jun 23

Philadelphia, PA hosted the first lipreading tournament in America.

Ref: 4

1928

Buddy, the first seeing eye dog, was presented to Morris S. Frank on this day. Many seeing eye organizations and schools continue to offer specially trained dogs “...to enhance the independence, dignity, and self-confidence of blind people...”

Ref: 4

Sep 15

Scottish bacteriologist Alexander Fleming discovers, by accident, that the mold penicillin has an antibiotic effect.

Ref: 2

1929

Jan 09

The Seeing Eye was incorporated -- in Nashville, TN. Its purpose was to train dogs to guide the blind.

Ref: 4

Jan 29

Seeing Eye Guide Dog Organization forms.

Ref: 5

Feb 14

Alexander Fleming introduces his mold by-product penicillin as a cure for bacterial infections.

Ref: 3

Medical diathermy machine first used, Schenectady NY.

Ref: 5

Aug 16

The first Siamese twins brought to the United States arrive in Boston, MA. Chang and Eng (Bunker) were 18 years old when they arrived from their homeland of Banesau, Siam. The twins were joined at the waist.

First US group hospital insurance plan instituted, Dallas TX.

Ref: 5

1930

May 20

A San Francisco newspaper reported that a University of CA committee had awarded the sum of $1,500 to continue research on the prevention and cure of "athletic foot".

Ref: 4

1931

Alka Seltzer introduced.

Ref: 5

Aug 13

Elk City, Oklahoma dedicated its new community hospital. It was the first of its kind in the United States.

Ref: 4

Alka Seltzer goes on sale.

Ref: 5

1932

Apr 04

Professor C.G. King of the University of Pittsburgh isolated vitamin C after five years of research.

Ref: 4

Apr 28

A yellow fever vaccine for humans is announced.

Ref: 2

1933

Mar 10

Nevada becomes the first U.S. state to regulate narcotics.

Ref: 2

Apr 05

The first operation to remove a lung was performed by Dr. Evarts Ambrose Graham at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis, MO.

Ref: 4

Jul 29

Cornerstone laid for America's first sanitorium for drug addicts at Lexington, KY.

Ref: 10

Dried human blood serum first prepared, University of PA.

Ref: 5

1934

Jul 01

First x-ray photo of entire body, Rochester, NY.

Ref: 5

1935

Jan 28

Iceland becomes first country to introduce abortion on medical/social grounds.

Ref: 5

First US surgical operation for relief of angina pectoris, Cleveland OH.

Ref: 5

Mar 05

First premature baby health law in US (Chicago).

Ref: 5

Mar 21

Incubator ambulance service began in Chicago, Illinois.

Ref: 4

Jun 10

After completing one full day without imbibing liquor, Dr. Robert Smith, a heart surgeon better known as Doctor Bob, and his friend William G. Wilson, a stockbroker, found Alcoholics Anonymous. This was the beginning of a lifetime without booze for the two ... and for thousands more throughout the years.

Ref: 4

1936

Jul 16

First x-ray photo of arterial circulation, Rochester, NY.

Ref: 5

Dec 24

First radioactive isotope medicine administered, Berkeley CA.

Ref: 5

1937

The first blood bank is established in Chicago, IL at the Cook County Hospital.

Ref: 4

First state contraceptive clinic opens (Raleigh NC).

Ref: 5

Isolation of pituitary hormone announced (Yale University).

Ref: 5

1938

Jan 03

The March of Dimes was established by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt -- to fight poliomyelitis (Roosevelt himself was afflicted with polio). The organization was originally called the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (as the disease was commonly known).

Ref: 4

Jan 14

National Society for the Legalization of Euthanasia formed (NY).

Ref: 5

Mar 18

New York first requires serological blood tests of pregnant women.

Ref: 5

New York makes syphilis test mandatory in order to get a marriage license.

Ref: 5

Apr 12

1st US law requiring medical tests for marriage licenses (NY).

Ref: 5

May 12

Sandoz Labs manufactures LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide).

Ref: 5

Marion Chapman smallest known premature baby to survive (280 g), is born.

Ref: 5

1939

Jul 19

Dr. Roy P. Scholz of St. Louis, MO became the first surgeon to use fiberglass sutures.

Ref: 4

Dr. Clemont Joynt said that eyeglasses and a strong vitamin A diet would cure ball players of slumps previously blamed on overwork and underwork.

Ref: 4

Synthetic vitamin K is produced for the first time.

Ref: 2

Nov 01

The first animal conceived by artificial insemination (rabbit) is displayed.

Ref: 5

1941

Jul 04

Howard Florey & Norman Heatley meet for the first time, 11 days later they successfully recreate pencillin.

Ref: 5

Jul 15

Florey & Heatley present freeze dried mold cultures (Pencillin).

Ref: 5

Dec 05

Sister Elizabeth Kenny new treatment for infantile paralysis approved.

Ref: 5

1943

Apr 07

The drug LSD first synthesized by Albert Hoffman in Basel, Switzerland.

Ref: 10

Apr 19

Dr. Albert Hofman at Sandoz in Basle, Switzerland, resynthesizes LSD-25 in a search for a cure for migraines, & has visions (first synthesis 1938)

Rotschild-Haddassh University Hospital opens.

Ref: 5

Sep 16

Albert Hoffman's first LSD experience

Ref: 62

1944

May 03

Dr. Robert Woodward and Dr. William Doering produced the first synthetic quinine at Harvard University.

Ref: 4

May 08

The first eye bank is established in New York City.

Ref:77

Nov 29

John Hopkins hospital performs 1st open heart surgery.

Ref: 5

1945

Jan 25

Grand Rapids MI becomes 1st US city to fluoridate its water.

Ref: 5

1946

Discovery of streptomycin, the first antimbiotic effective against tuberculosis, announced.

Ref: 10

Apr 22

Dectuplets are born in Bacacay Brazil, 8 males & 2 females.

Ref: 5

The first medical sponges were offered for sale in Detroit, MI.

Ref: 4

Dr. Benjamin Spock’s "Baby and Child Care" was first published.

Ref: 4

Oct 02

Scientists first propose theory that cigarette smoking causes cancer at University of Buffalo.

Ref: 10

1947

Jan 03

In Trenton, New Jersey, Al Herrin, the handyman who claimed he had no bed to sleep in because he had never slept a wink in his life, died at age 92. Doctors said there was evidence that he had gone several months without sleep and they confirmed that if he went that long, it could well be that he was awake his entire life.

Ref: 4

1948

Jul 05

Britain's National Health Service Act went into effect, providing government-financed medical and dental care.

Ref: 70

Oct 25

Hepatitus virus identified for first time.

Ref: 10

1949

Jan 07

The announcement of the first photograph of genes was presented at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles (UCLA).

Ref: 4

Apr 20

The drug Cortisone discovered.

Ref: 10

Jun 23

First 12 women graduate from Harvard Medical School.

Ref: 5

1950

Jun 17

Dr. Richard H. Lawler performed the first kidney transplant in a 45-minute operation in Chicago, IL.

Ref: 4

1951

Feb 01

First X-ray moving picture process demonstrated.

Ref: 5

1952

World's first implantation of an artificial heart valve in a human.

Ref: 10

Mar 18

First plastic lens for cataract patients fitted (Philadelphia).

Ref: 5

Sep 20

Scientists confirm that DNA holds hereditary data.

Ref: 2

Nov 13

Harvard's Paul Zoll becomes the first man to use electric shock to treat cardiac arrest.

Ref: 2

Dec 02

George Jorgensen, a former G.I. who had gone to Denmark in 1950, prepared to return to the U.S. this day -- as Christine Jorgensen. He had undergone 2,000 hormone injections and six operations performed by sex change surgeons.

Ref: 4

Dec 02

Denver’s KOA-TV transmitted, for 49 stations on the NBC network, the first human birth to be seen on TV. It was a part of the program, The March of Medicine.

Ref: 4

Dec 15

Christine Jorgenson is first person to undergo a sex-change operation.

Ref: 5

Dec 29

The first transistorized hearing aid was offered for sale by Sonotone Corporation on this day.

Ref: 4

1953

F Crick & J Watson discover structure of DNA-molecule.

Ref: 5

Mar 11

First woman army doctor commissioned (FM Adams).

Ref: 5

Dr. Jonas Salk announced a new vaccine -- to prevent poliomyelitis.

Ref: 4

Mar 27

A University of Pittsburgh team finds a vaccine that effectively combats polio.

Ref: 25

The magazine Nature publishes an article by biologists Francis Crick and James Watson, describing the "double helix" of DNA.

Ref: 2

Sep 17

1st successful separation of Siamese twins.

Ref: 5

Nov 11

The polio virus is identified and photographed for the first time in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Ref: 2

1954

The first mass inoculation with Salk vaccine takes place in Pittsburgh.

Ref: 5

Mar 29

Karen Anne Quinlan Scranton PA, famous comatose patient (right to die case), is born.

Ref: 5

Apr 26

A nationwide test of the Salk anti-polio begins

Ref: 5

Jun 07

First microbiology laboratory dedicated (New Brunswick NJ).

Ref: 5

Aug 31

Tula [Barry Kenneth Cossey], England, transexual (For Your Eyes Only), is born.

Ref: 5

1955

Dr Jonas Salk successfully tests Polio vaccine.

Ref: 5

Apr 12

The polio vaccine of Dr. Jonas Salk was termed “safe, effective and potent” by the University of Michigan Polio Vaccine Evaluation Center.

Ref: 4

Jun 10

First separation of virus into component parts reported.

Ref: 5

Nov 03

First virus crystallized (announced).

Ref: 5

1956

Medic Alert Foundation forms

Ref: 2

Dr. Jonas E. Salk's polio vaccine made available to masses.

Ref: 10

Sep 14

Drs. James Winston Watts and Walter Freeman perform first prefrontal lobotomy in Washington DC.

Ref: 10

1957

NY narcotics investigator, Dr Herbert Berger, urges AMA to investigate use of stimulating drugs by athletes.

Ref: 5

Jul 12

The U.S. surgeon general, Leroy E. Burney, reports that there is a direct link between smoking and lung cancer.

Ref: 2

1958

Oct 31

First internal heart pacemaker was implated by Swedish doctor Ake Senning.

Ref: 10

1960

The Food and Drug Administration approved a pill as safe for birth control use. (The pill, Enovid, was made by G.D. Searle and Company of Chicago.)

Ref: 70

Jun 27

Chlorophyll "A" synthesized Cambridge Mass.

Ref: 5

Aug 18

First oral contraceptive, "Enovid 10"put on sale by Searle Drug Company.

Ref: 10

1962

Jan 28

Johanne Relleke gets stung by bees 2,443 times in Rhodesia & survives.

Ref: 5

Jul 17

Senate rejects Medicare for the aged.

Ref: 5

1963

Apr 18

Dr James Campbell performed the first human nerve transplant.

Ref: 5

Apr 21

Dr Michael Ellis De Bakey performs first successful heart implant.

Ref: 5

1964

Jan 11

Surgeon General Luther Terry releases a U.S. Public Health Service report that blames cigarette smoking for most lung-cancer deaths.

Ref: 25

Jan 23

First heart transplant-on Chimp.

Ref: 10

Jan 31

US report "Smoking & Health" connects smoking to lung cancer.

Ref: 5

Jun 24

The Federal Trade Commission announces that, starting in 1965, cigarette makers must include warning labels about the harmful effects of smoking.

Ref: 2

Zeng Jinlian Hunan China, became tallest woman known (2.46 m, 8'1"), is born.

Ref: 5

Oct 02

Scientists announce findings that smoking can cause cancer.

Ref: 2

1965

Jul 30

President Johnson signed into law the Medicare bill, which went into effect the next year

Ref: 2

1966

All US cigarette packs have to carry "Caution Cigarette smoking may be hazardous to your health".

Ref: 5

Jan 20

Former Pres. Harry S. Truman receives first medicare card issued

Ref: 10

Apr 05

Timothy Leary spoke at New York’s Town Hall and compared LSD to a microscope saying that the drug “is to psychology what the microscope is to biology,” making not just a few to wonder, “What’s he smokin’?”

Ref: 4

Jul 01

Medicare goes into effect.

Ref: 5

Oct 06

U.S. Government declares LSD to be illegal.

Ref: 10

Oct 08

Government bans sale and production of LSD.

Ref: 10

Dec 06

Polio vaccination becomes obligatory in Belgium.

Ref: 5

1967

Feb 15

Longest dream (REM sleep) on record, Bill Carskadon, Chicago (2:23).

Ref: 5

Colorado Governor John Love signed the first law legalizing abortion in the United States. The law was limited to therapeutic abortions when agreed to, unanimously, by a panel of three physicians.

Ref: 4

Jun 15

Gov Reagan signs liberalized California abortion bill.

Ref: 5

The world’s first successful heart transplant is performed. Dr. Christiaan Barnard performed the operation at Cape Town, South Africa on 55-year old Lewis Washkanski. Washkanski survived 18 days.

Ref: 4

Dec 14

DNA created in a test tube.

Ref: 5

Louis Washkansky dies 18 days after first heart transplant at 55.

Ref: 5

1968

Jan 02

Christian Barnard performs 2nd heart transplant. Philip Blaiberg becomes the third recipient of a transplanted heart.

Ref: 5

Dr. Norman E. Shumway performs the first heart transplant on an adult patient in the U.S. at Stanford University Hospital. Shumway’s historic first heart transplant came four weeks after the first such operation in the world, by Dr. Christian Barnard, in South Africa. Barnard used techniques developed by Shumway at Stanford.

Ref: 4

Apr 27

Abortions are now legal in England as Abortion Act passes into law.

Ref: 10

Dec 23

First documented US case of space motion sickness.

Ref: 5

1969

Apr 04

Dr Denton Cooley implants 1st temporary artificial heart. The patient, Denton A Cooley, lives only 38 hours, dying of pneumonia and kidney failure.

Ref: 5

Apr 08

Denton Cooley got first fully artificial heart, dies at 48.

Ref: 5

Apr 22

First human eye transplant performed.

Ref: 5

Abortion & contraception legalized in Canada.

Ref: 5

Jun 01

Tobacco advertising is banned on Canadian radio & TV.

Ref: 5

Sep 04

The Food and Drug Administration issued a report calling birth control pills "safe," despite a slight risk of fatal blood-clotting disorders linked to the pills.

Ref: 6

Oct 18

The federal government banned artificial sweeteners known as cyclamates because of evidence they caused cancer in laboratory rats.

Ref: 70

1970

Jun 04

U.S. Food and Drug administration approves the use of L-Dopa for Parkinson's Disease victims.

Ref: 10

1971

Tobacco ads representing $20 million dollars in advertising are banned from broadcast in the US.

Ref: 4

Berkeley chemists announces first synthetic growth hormones.

Ref: 5

Mar 29

Development of a serum hepatitis vaccine for children announced

Ref: 5

Jun 13

Broderick nonuplets Sydney Australia (7 of 9 survived infancy), is born.

Ref: 5

Dec 06

Ryan Wayne White born with hemophilia, later to contract Aids from blood-clotting products, is born.

Ref: 5

1972

Jul 25

US health officials concede blacks were used as guinea pigs in a 40 year syphillis experiment.

Ref: 5

1973

Jul 30

After an 11 year legal battle in Britain, withered limb victims of drug thalidomide awarded £20 mil.

Ref: 10

Dec 15

American Psychiatric Association reverses 100 year-old opinion that homosexuality is not mental illness.

Ref: 5

1974

Jan 25

South African surgeon Christiaan Barnard transplanted the first human heart without removal of the old one.

Ref: 5

1975

Feb 18

Italy broadens abortion law.

Ref: 5

Feb 26

First televised kidney transplant (Today Show).

Ref: 5

1976

Mar 31

The New Jersey Supreme Court rules that coma patient Karen Anne Quinlan could be disconnected from her respirator. (Quinlan, who remained comatose, died in 1985.)

Ref: 5

Apr 21

Swine Flu vaccine, for non-epidemic, enters testing.

Ref: 5

Jul 21

First outbreak of "Legionnaire's Disease" kills 29 in Phila.

Ref: 5

Jul 27

Air Force veteran Ray Brennan became the first person to die of so-called "Legionnaire's Disease" following an American Legion convention in Philadelphia.

Ref: 5

Dec 16

The federal government halts swine flu vaccinations following reports of paralysis apparently linked to the vaccine

Ref: 62

Dec 16

Government halts swine flu vaccination program following reports of paralysis

Ref: 5

1977

Sandy Allen, the world's tallest woman at 7' 7¼", undergoes a pituitary operation to inhibit further growth. (Guiness Book of World Records, 1998)

1978

Jan 18

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) isolate the cause of Legionnaire's disease.

Ref: 2

May 18

Italy legalizes abortion.

Ref: 5

Jul 25

Louise Brown, the world's first "test-tube baby," is born in Lancashire, England. She's a healthy 5 pounds, 12 ounces. It's the first authenticated birth of a baby "conceived" outside a mother's body. An egg cell is removed surgically from the mother and fertilized with the father's sperm in a petri dish.

Ref: 25

UN's World Health Organization declares smallpox eradicated

Ref: 62

Ms. Elaine Esposito died at age 43 after having been in a coma since her appendectomy when she was 6

Ref: 62

1979

Dr Walter Massey named director of Argonne national Lab.

Ref: 5

In Nairobi, World Health Organization announces eradication worldwide of smallpox.

Ref: 10

Oct 27

Voluntary Euthanasia Society publishes how-to-do-it suicide guide.

Ref: 5

1980

May 08

World Health Organization announced smallpox had been eradicated

Ref: 2

Jul 10

Willie Jones hospitalized for heat stroke with record 46.5ø C temp.

Ref: 5

Dec 18

Dutch 2nd Chamber accepts minister Van Agts abortion laws.

Ref: 5

Dec 28

Jersey calf lived 222 days with an artificial heart.

Ref: 5

1981

Swiss scientists announce first successful cloning of a mammal, replicating three mice.

Ref: 10

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that five homosexuals in Los Angeles had come down with a rare kind of pneumonia; they were the first recognized cases of what became known as AIDS.

Ref: 70

Jun 06

Ref: 70

Jul 03

First newspaper report on new rare ‘cancer' infecting 41 homosexuals (AIDS);NY Times, page 20.

Ref: 10

Aug 28

National Centers for Disease Control announces high incidence of Pneumocystis & Kaposi's sarcoma in gay men.

Ref: 5

Jamie Fiske liver transplant recipient, is born.

Ref: 5

Dec 28

Elizabeth Jordan Carr, the first American "test-tube" baby, was born in Norfolk, Virginia.

Ref: 5

1982

Zeng Jinlian Hunan China, grew to 8'1" (tallest woman), dies at 17.

Ref: 5

Dec 02

Barney B. Clark became the first recipient of an artificial heart,developed by Dr. Robert K. Jarvik. The 61-year-old retired dentist from Seattle underwent a 7½-hour operation at the University of Utah Medical Center in Salt Lake City. The operation was performed by a surgical team headed by Dr. William C. DeVries at the University of Utah Medical Center. Clark survived with the artificial heart for over 3 months. He died on March 23, 1983.

Ref: 4

1983

The Orphan Drug Bill is signed into law. It encourages pharmaceutical companies to produce drugs for unusual illnesses with limited markets.

Ref: 17

Mar 23

Dr. Barney Clark, recipient of a permanent artificial heart, died at the University of Utah Medical Center after 112 days with the device. (TWA, 1984)

Ref: 95

Apr 23

Identification of a virus thought to cause acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) was announced by federal researchers.

May 02

Australian doctors announce the world's first human pregnancy using a fertilized egg which had been frozen before implantation.

Ref: 17

Jul 05

Baby girl born in Roanoke, Va., to a mother brain dead for 84 days

Ref: 5

Jul 25

First nonhuman primate (baboon) conceived in a lab dish, San Antonio.

Ref: 5

Dec 16

Riverside CA judge denies cerebral palsy victim Elizabeth Bouviato request to starve herself to death in a county hospital

Ref: 5

1984

Doctors at the University of Miami and the Center for Disease Control publish information on one of the first cases of heterosexual transmission of AIDS in the US.

Ref: 17

First test tube quadruplets born in Australia.

Ref: 17

Jan 19

California Supreme Court refuses to allow quadriplegic Elizabeth Bouvia to starve herself to death in a public hospital, she appeals and is later granted the right to die.

Ref: 5

Feb 03

First baby conceived by embryo transplant born in Long Beach CA.

Ref: 5

Feb 07

David (born without immunity system) at 12, touches mom for first time.

Ref: 5

6 year old Texan Stormie Jones gets first heart & liver transplant.

Ref: 5

Feb 14

Six-year old Stormie Jones becoms the world's first heart-liver transplant recipient at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. She will live until November 1990. (XDG, p 4A, 2/14/2004)

Ref: 83

David spent most of his life in a plastic bubble, dies at 12.

Ref: 5

Zoe, Melbourne Australia, 1st frozen-embryo child, is born.

Ref: 5

Apr 11

? first deep freeze baby, in Australia

Ref: 5

Apr 21

Centers for Disease Control says virus discovered in France causes AIDS.

Ref: 5

Apr 23

Federal researchers announce they have identified virus that causes AIDS; 4,000 Americans now ill.

Ref: 5

Oct 16

A baboon heart is transplanted into 15-day-old Baby Fae--the first transplant of the kind--at Loma Linda University Medical Center, CA. Baby Fae lives until November 15.

Ref: 2

"Baby Fae"age 12 days old given heart of a baboon in Loma Linda, CA; dies 21 days later.

Ref: 10

Nov 15

Baby Fae dies 20 days after receiving a baboon heart transplant in Loma Linda, California.

Ref: 2

Artificial heart recipient William Schroeder suffers first stroke.

Ref: 5

1985

Jan 13

Cerebral Palsy telethon raises $17,1000,000.

Ref: 5

A jury in New Jersey rules that terminally ill patients have the right to starve themselves.

Ref: 2

Feb 15

The Center for Disease Control reported that more than half of all nine-year-olds in the U.S. showed no sign of tooth decay. Fluoride was given credit for these ‘pearly’ figures. Look Ma, no cavities!

Ref: 4

Murray Haydon becomes the third person to receive an artificial heart.

Ref: 2

3rd person to receive an artificial heart (Murray Haydon).

Ref: 5

William Schroeder became the first artificial-heart patient to leave the confines of the hospital (where the historic operation was performed). He spent 15 minutes outside the Humana Hospital in Louisville, KY.

Ref: 4

Mar 02

The government approved a screening test for AIDS that detected antibodies to the virus, allowing possibly contaminated blood to be excluded from the blood supply.

Ref: 70

Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care was published with Dr. Michael Rothenberg sharing authorship with Dr. Benjamin Spock, ‘The Baby Doc’. It was the fifth edition of the book to be published. 30,000,000 copies had been printed -- second only to the Bible in the best seller category.

Ref: 4

Thomas Creighton, US heart patient, dies after having three heart transplants in a 46-hour period.

Ref: 2

William Schroeder set a record for heart transplant patients as he reached his 113th day of life with the artificial organ.

Ref: 4

Apr 06

William J. Schroeder became the first artificial heart recipient to be discharged from the hospital as he moved into an apartment in Louisville, Ky.

Ref: 64

Jack C Burcham is 5th to receive "Jarvik 7" permanent artificial heart.

Ref: 5

The third most widely-used form of contraception in the U.S. celebrated its 25th birthday. The Pill is now the leading form of contraception and continues to be the focus of controversy. Even country stars Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty sang a duet that turned into a big, hit song titled, The Pill.

Ref: 4

Jun 02

American Health magazine released a survey that indicated 52 percent of doctors claimed that no one really should need to eat red meat more than once or twice a week, and 72 percent said that a vegetarian diet was a passing fad.

Ref: 4

Jun 03

Ref: 4

Jun 11

Karen Ann Quinlan, the comatose patient whose case prompted a historic right-to-die court decision, dies in Morris Plains, New Jersey, at age 31. (TWA, 1986)

Ref: 95

Jul 11

Zippers for stitches were announced by Dr. H. Harlan Stone. The surgeon had used zippers on 28 patients whom he thought might require additional operations because of internal bleeding following initial operations. The zippers, which lasted between five and 14 days, were then replaced with permanent stitches.

Ref: 4

Aug 26

13-year old AIDS patient Ryan White began "attending" classes at Western Middle School in Kokomo, IN via a telephone hookup at his home. School officials barred Ryan from attending classes in person. (XDG, p 4A, 8/26/2000)

Ref: 83

Dec 04

Dallas, Texas became the largest city in the United States to pass a no smoking law for restaurants. ‘Big D’ added another ‘biggest’ to its list.

Ref: 4

France sues the United States over the discovery of an AIDS serum.

Ref: 2

1986

Johnson & Johnson announces it no longer sells capsule drugs.

Ref: 5

AIDS patient Ryan White returns to classes at Western Middle School.

Ref: 5

Jun 19

Murray P Haydon artificial heart recipient, dies in Louisville, Ky.

Ref: 5

Jul 11

Mary Beth Whitehead christens surrogate Baby M, Sara.

Ref: 5

Aug 06

William J Schroeder (world's longest-survivor with permanent artificial heart, dies after 620 days with Jarvik VII man-made pump).

Ref: 5

Sep 19

Fed health officals announce AZT will be available to AIDS patients.

Ref: 5

Oct 22

The Surgeon General releases his first report on AIDS

Ref: 62

Nov 20

UN's WHO announces first global effort to combat AIDS.

Ref: 5

Dec 17

Mrs Davina Thompson makes medical history by having the first heart, lung & liver transplant (Papworth Hospital in Cambridge, England).

Ref: 5

1987

A controversial anti-smoking ad aired for the first time on television. It featured actor Yul Brynner in a public service announcement that was recorded shortly before his October 1985 death from lung cancer.

Ref: 4

Mar 02

Two sets of quintuplets were born on this day, as Rosalind Helms delivered a basketball team of bouncing babies in Peoria, IL and Robin Jenkins became the mother of five in Las Vegas, NV.

Ref: 4

Mar 20

The United State approves AZT, a drug that is proven to slow the progress of AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome).

Ref: 2

Apr 01

In his first major speech on the epidemic, President Reagan told doctors in Philadelphia, "We've declared AIDS public health enemy No. 1."

Ref: 70

Apr 07

National Museum of Female Physicians opens in Washington DC.

Ref: 5

Apr 09

Dikye Baggett became the first person to undergo corrective surgery for Parkinson’s disease. The procedure took place in Nashville, TN.

Ref: 4

May 11

First heart-lung transplant take place (Baltimore)

Ref: 5

Ted Koppel and guests discussed the topic of AIDS for four hours on ABC-TV’s Nightline. It is believed that this was a record for the longest live-TV broadcast, other than of space coverage and political conventions.

Ref: 4

Sep 06

World's first separation of Siamese Twins joined at the head at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore.

Ref: 10

Nov 12

The American Medical Association issued a policy statement saying it was unethical for a doctor to refuse to treat someone solely because that person had AIDS or is HIV-positive.

Ref: 70

1988

Jan 11

The L'Esperance quintuplets are born: Alexandria, Danielle, Erica, Raymond and Veronica.

Ref: 5

Apr 12

Harvard University patents genetically engineered mouse (1st for animal life), a laboratory mouse that was more sensitive to cancer.

Ref: 5

May 16

Surgeon General C Everett Koop reports nicotine as addictive as heroin.

Ref: 5

Aug 17

NYC first case of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (9 year old Bronx boy).

Ref: 5

Aug 18

FDA approves Minoxidil as a hair loss treatment.

Ref: 5

Oct 29

2,000 US anti-abortion protesters arrested for blocking clinics.

Ref: 5

Oct 29

China announces a herbal male contraceptive.

Ref: 5

1989

Jan 24

First reported case of AIDS transmitted by heterosexual oral sex.

Ref: 5

Fins ministry of Public health installs sex vacation to thwart stress.

Ref: 5

Mar 25

Chicken Kentucky first partial birth in space (chicken), is born.

Ref: 5

Apr 09

Washington DC march supporting 1973 Roe vs Wade decision (allow abortions).

Ref: 5

May 03

Christine Jorgensen first transsexual, dies at 62

Ref: 5

Nov 27

First successful living donor liver transplant at the University of Chicago.

Ref: 10

"Day Without Art"-Artists demonstrate against AIDS.

Ref: 5

1990

Mar 09

Dr. Antonia Novello was sworn in as surgeon general, becoming the first woman and the first Hispanic to hold the job.

Ref: 70

Apr 08

Ryan White hemophiliac AIDS sufferer, dies at 18. The Ryan White Foundation was founded later in 1991 by Jeanne White and Phil Donahue

Ref: 5

Authorities in Oakland County, MI move to prevent further use of a Dr. Jack Kevorkian's suicide device that Janet Adkins, an Oregon woman diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, had used a day earlier to take her own life. (XDG, p 4A, 6/5/2000)

Ref: 83

Jun 25

The US Supreme Court upheld the right of an individual, whose wishes are clearly made, to refuse life-sustaining medical treatment. The 5-4 ruling upholding the right to die was made in the Curzan vs. Missouri case.

Ref: 4

Jul 26

President George H.W. Bush signed into law the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Ref: 70

Jul 26

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that a young woman, later identified as Kimberly Bergalis, had been infected with the AIDS virus, apparently by her dentist.

Ref: 70

Nov 11

Stormie Jones, the world's first heart-liver transplant recipient, dies at a Pittsburgh hospital at age 13. (XDG, p 4A, 11/11/2000)

Ref: 83

Dec 10

The Food and Drug Administration approves Norplant, a long-acting contraceptive implant. (XDG, p 4A, 12/10/2000)

Ref: 83

Dec 14

Right to Die case permits Nancy Cruzan to have her feeding tube removed, she dies 12 days later.

Ref: 5

Dec 26

Nancy Cruznan accident victim/right-to-die case, dies at 33.

Ref: 5

1991

Feb 05

A Michigan court bars Dr Jack Kevorkian from assisting in suicides.

Ref: 5

Mar 05

Trijntje Jansma-Boskma oldest person in Netherland, dies at 109.

Ref: 5

May 12

A new cancer drug is announced, which can only be found in bark of a rare tree in the Pacific Northwest.

Ref: 5

May 31

Federal health officials announced a new Medicare fee schedule.

Ref: 5

Aug 09

Hundreds of people storm an abortion clinic in Kansas in protest to new law prohibiting the blocking of access to clinics by pro-life demonstrators.

Sep 07

Kimberly Bergalis of Fort Pierce, Florida, came forward to identify herself as the young woman who had been infected with AIDS, apparently by her late dentist. (Bergalis died the following year.)

Ref: 6

Oct 23

Dr Jack Kevorkian's suicide machine kills 2 women.

Ref: 5

Condoms are handed out to thousands of NY High School students.

Ref: 5

AIDS awareness day.

Ref: 5

Dec 08

AIDS patient Kimberly Bergalis, who had contracted the disease from her dentist, died in Florida at age 23.

Ref: 70

Dec 24

Walter Hudson 1,025 lb man, dies at 46.

Ref: 5

1992

The Food and Drug Administration called on surgeons to stop using silicone gel breast implants because of safety questions, but stopped short of an outright ban.

Ref: 64

Jan 26

Americans with Disabilities Act went into effect.

Ref: 5

Feb 26

Xu Denghai of Beijing was hospitalized with a "twisted intestine" after playing excessively with a hula-hoop. This was the third such case in several weeks since a hula-hoop craze had swept China. The Bejing Evening News advised people to warm up properly and avoid hula-hooping immediately after eating.

Ref: 34

Apr 05

Largest demonstration in Washington DC history 700,000 march in support of abortion rights.

Ref: 10

Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx loses its accreditation.

Ref: 5

Sep 03

John van Capel oldest man in Netherlands dies. (Born April 22, 1884)

Ref: 5

Sep 06

A man who had received a transplanted baboon liver 10 weeks earlier died at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

Ref: 70

1993

Jan 18

Mike Templeton 2nd person to receive a heart pump, dies at 34.

Ref: 5

MA General Hospital says that med student Yung-Kang Chow has made anti-AIDS drug in test tubes.

Ref: 10

George Ives dies at 111.

Ref: 5

May 26

In what amounted to a test sales pitch for health reform, first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton denounced price gougers and profiteers before an enthusiastic audience of union activists in Washington. (XDG, p 4A, 5/26/2003)

Ref: 83

Surgeon General-designate Joycelyn Elders stuck to her firm stands on sex education and AIDS prevention in a one-day confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill. (XDG, p 4A, 7/23/2003)

Ref: 83

Aug 20

Cojoined twins, Angela and Amy Lakeberg are separated at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in an operation that sacraficed Amy, since the sisters shared a common heart and liver tissue. Although the operation appeared to be successful, Angela dies in June 1994. (XDG, p 4A, 8/20/2003)

Ref: 83

Dec 17

The so-called "suicide doctor" Jack Kevorkian was released from jail after promising not to help anyone end their lives, for the time being. (XDG, p 4A, 12/17/2003)

Ref: 83

1994

Feb 24

Surgeon General Jocelyn Elders labels smoking an "adolescent addiction" and accuses the tobacco industry of trying to convince teenagers that cigarettes will make them sexy and successful. (XDG, p 4A, 2/24/2004)

Ref: 83

Defense Department announces smoking ban in workplaces.

Ref: 5

Apr 08

Smoking banned in Pentagon & all US military bases.

Ref: 5

R Pelgrom oldest Dutch man dies, 9 days short of 108. Hew was born April 24, 1886.

Ref: 5

May 02

Dr Kevokian found innocent on assisting suicides.

Ref: 5

Kinshasa, the capital of Zaire, was placed under quarantine after an outbreak of the Ebola virus.

Ref: 70

Aug 07

The 10th International Conference on AIDS opened in Yokohama, Japan.

Elizabeth Glaser, who became an AIDS activist after she and her two children were infected with HIV via a blood transfusion, died in Santa Monica, Calif., at age 47.

Ref: 70

Dec 09

President Clinton fires Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders after learning she'd told a conference that masturbation should be discussed in school as a part of human sexuality.

Ref: 70

1995

Federal judge allows lawsuit claiming US tobacco makers knew nicotine was addictive & manipulated its levels to keep customers hooked.

Ref: 5

Blind teenage boy receives a 'Bionic Eye' at a Washington Hospital.

Ref: 5

US approves first chicken pox vaccine, Varivax by Merck & Co.

Ref: 5

May 03

The federal government approves the use of the drug AZT to treat children infected with the AIDS virus. (XDG, p 4A, 5/3/2000)

Ref: 83

Kinshasa, Zaire under quarantine after an outbreak of Ebola virus.

Ref: 5

Aug 10

Norma McCorvey, "Jane Roe" of the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion, announced she had joined the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue.

Ref: 70

Nov 16

US Attorney General Janet Reno discloses she has Parkinson's Disease. (XDG, p 4A, 11/16/2000)

Ref: 83

Dec 14

AIDS patient Jeff Getty recieves baboon bone marrow transplant.

Ref: 5

1996

Jan 07

Abbey Speakman England, born 19 days after her twin sister

Ref: 5

Sarah Morales Mexico, Siamese twin (survived), is born.

Ref: 5

Sarahi Morales Mexico, Siamese twin (died on Jan 27, 1996), is born.

Ref: 5

Jan 27

15 day old siamese twins separated-Sarah Morales survives, Sarahi dies.

Ref: 5

All tobacco and alcohol advertising banned in Russia by Boris Yeltsin.

Ref: 10

A federal appeals court strikes down Washington state's band on doctor-assisted suicide. (XDG, p 4A, 3/6/2001)

Ref: 83

Dr Jack Kevorkian is acquitted of assisted suicide for helping two suffering patients kill themselves. (XDG, p 4A, 3/8/2001)

Ref: 83

The Liggett Group agreed to repay more than $10 million in Medicaid bills for treatment of smokers, settling lawsuits with five states. Ref

Ref: 64

Mar 20

The British government says that a rare brain disease that had killed 10 people was probably linked to the so-called "mad cow disease", essentially admitting humans can catch CJD (Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease aka Mad Cow Disease).

Ref: 5

Amid public fears of mad cow disease, British farmers demanded their government order the destruction of old cattle, but Prime Minister John Major refused, and blamed the crisis on his political opponents.

Ref: 64

Apr 02

A federal appeals court rejects New York state laws banning doctor-assisted suicide, saying it would be discriminatory to let people disconnect life support systems while refusing to let others end their lives with medication.

Ref: 64

President Clinton vetoed a bill that would have outlawed a technique used to end pregnancies in their late stages that opponents call "partial-birth" abortion.

Ref: 70

A jury in Pontiac, Michigan, acquitted Dr. Jack Kevorkian of assisted-suicide charges, his third legal victory in two years.

Ref: 6

Jul 19

A Food and Drug Administration advisory committee recommended, with some conditions, that the abortion-inducing drug RU-486 be approved.

Ref: 6

Aug 21

President Clinton signed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, aimed at making health insurance easier to obtain and keep.

Ref: 6

Nov 27

15 day old Siamese twins separated-Sarah Morales survives, Sarahi dies.

Ref: 5

Dec 19

Paige Speakman England, born 19 days before her twin sister

Ref: 5

AIDS researcher Dr. David Ho was named Time magazine's "Man of the Year."

Ref: 64

1997

Jan 10

Dow Corning provides $2.95 billion to settle breast implant suits.

Ref: 5

Jan 26

Pasaye Twins Palatine IL, twin born 92 days after his brother (Oct 26)

Ref: 5

Feb 02

The government released statistics showing deaths from AIDS fell by almost half during the first half of 1997, a decrease attributed to increased use of powerful combinations of medicines.

Ref: 70

Feb 06

Diane Blood, 32, in England, won right to use her dead husbands sperm.

Ref: 5

Scientists in Scotland announced they had succeeded in cloning an adult mammal, producing a lamb named "Dolly."

Ref: 70

It had been considered ‘impossible’ until it was accomplished by Dr. Ian Wilmut in July of 1996, at the Roslin Institute, in Roslin, Scotland. Kept secret until this day, the story broke that Dolly, a seven-month old sheep, was the first clone of an adult mammal. Since July 1996, the institute had cloned “seven sheep, including three breeds from different cell types.” And they said the technology was “equally applicable to pigs, goats, rabbits and indeed, any mammal.”

Ref: 4

Feb 24

The Food and Drug Administration named six brands of birth control as safe and effective "morning-after" pills for preventing pregnancy.

Ref: 70

President Clinton bans federally funded human cloning research.

Ref: 5

Mar 20

Liggett Group, the maker of Chesterfield cigarettes, settled 22 state lawsuits by agreeing to warn on every pack that smoking is addictive and admitting the industry markets cigarettes to teen-agers.

Ref: 70

Mar 24

Australian parliament overturns world's first & only euthanasia law

Ref: 5

Apr 17

John Bell, 115, recieves new pacemaker.

Ref: 5

A federal judge ruled for the first time that the Food and Drug Administration can regulate tobacco as a drug, but said it couldn't restrict cigarette advertising. (XDG, p 4A, 4/25/2002)

Ref: 83

May 06

Hemophiliacs who contracted AIDS between 1978 and 1985 from tainted blood products accepted a $600 million settlement from four health-care companies.

Ref: 70

May 18

President Clinton announces the creation of a research center at the National Institutes of Health devoted to developing an AIDS vaccine within the next decade. (XDG, p 4A, 5/18/2002)

Ref: 83

Jun 20

The tobacco industry agreed to a massive settlement in exchange for major relief from mounting lawsuits and legal bills.

Ref: 70

Jul 08

The Mayo Clinic and the government warned the diet-drug combination known as "fen-phen" could cause serious heart and lung damage.

Ref: 70

Aug 25

The tobacco industry agreed to an $11.3 billion settlement with the state of Florida.

Ref: 70

Nov 21

President Clinton signed a law giving the FDA new powers to speed the approval of drugs to combat a host of killer diseases, including cancer and AIDS. (XDG, p 4A, 11/21/2002)

Ref: 83

Dec 04

Europe health officials vote to ban tobacco advertising beginning in 4-5 years.

Ref: 10

Dec 08

The FBI announced its new National DNA Index System (NDIS). NDIS allows forensic science laboratories to link serial violent crimes to each other and to known sex offenders through the electronic exchange of DNA profiles. This same day, the FBI Laboratory announced its success in extracting a DNA profile using mitochondrial DNA (mDNA). mDNA analysis allows extraction of DNA from minute quantities of physical evidence like a strand of human hair.

Ref: 14

Dec 22

Merck baldness pill for men approved by FDA.

Ref: 5

Dec 31

South Africa & US surgeons separate Zambian Siamese twins joined at the head.

Ref: 5

1998

A new anti-smoking law went into effect in California, prohibiting people from lighting up in bars.

Ref: 70

Nineteen European nations signed a treaty in Paris opposing human cloning.

Ref: 70

Jan 20

The headline read, “Cloned Calves Offer Promise of Medicines.” The calves were cloned from the cells of cow fetuses by University of Massachusetts scientists, James Robl and Steven Stice, who also worked for Advanced Cell Technology Inc., a biotech start-up in Worcester, MA. The hope is for genetically customized calves that will be able to safely, easily and cheaply produce medicines for humans in their milk.

Ref: 4

Dr David Satcher is sworn in as surgeon general during an Oval Office ceremony.

Ref: 83

Feb 16

Mr Jefferson Virginia, first cloned calf, is born.

Ref: 5

Mar 10

US military personnel serving in the Persian Gulf receive their first vaccinations against anthrax. (XDG, p 4A, 3/10/2003)

Ref: 83

The federal government endorses a new HIV test that yields instant results. (XDG, p 4A, 3/26/2003)

Ref: 83

Mar 27

The Food and Drug Administration approved the drug Viagra, made by Pfizer, saying it helped about two-thirds of impotent men improve their sexual function.

Ref: 5

Pfizer launches its new drug Viagra.

Ref: 10

Jun 10

A Jacksonville FL jury orders Brown and Williamson Tobacco Corp to pay nearly $1M to the family of Roland Maddox who had smoked Lucky Strikes for nearly 50 years. Later, a Florida appeals court overturned the verdict. (XDG, p 4A, 6/10/2003)

Ref: 83

Jun 19

A study published in the British medical journal said smoking more than doubles the risk of developing dementia and Alzheimers' disease. (XDG, p 4A, 6/19/2003)

Ref: 83

We found this Viagra report at the Poison News Headlines Web site, which said it had grabbed it from The New Straits Times: A 50-year-old Dutch tourist in the Spanish resort of Benidorm was admitted to the hospital when the Viagra he took left him with a 36-hour erection. The man, who had no history of impotency, told doctors he had taken the drug merely to enhance his sexual performance. In Beirut, a Lebanese woman filed assault charges against her husband who took three Viagra pills at once, lost control over himself and savagely attacked her in a state of excitement she said she had never seen in him before. And in Taipeh, a prostitute confessed to killing a 70-year-old client, saying she could not bear his excessive sexual demands after he took two Viagra tablets.

Ref: 4

Oct 19

In Miami, the first class-action lawsuit brought by smokers against the tobacco industry went to trial. (Jurors later found the nation's largest cigarette makers and industry groups had produced a defective and deadly product.) (Ref 6)

Ref: 3

Nov 22

The CBS News program "60 Minutes" aired videotape of Dr. Jack Kevorkian, an advocate of assisted suicide, administering lethal drugs to a terminally ill patient, Thomas Youk (yowk). Kevorkian, who challenged prosecutors to charge him, was later convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to ten to 25 years in prison.

Ref: 70

Dec 20

Nkem Chukwu gave birth in Houston to five girls and two boys, 12 days after giving birth to another child, a girl. (However, the tiniest of the babies died a week later.)

Ref: 6

Dec 27

A week after she was born weighing just 10.3 ounces, the smallest of the Houston octuplets (Chijindu Chidera) dies from heart and lung failure. (XDG, p 4A, 12/27/2003)

Ref: 83

Dec 30

Weak but radiant with pride, Nkem Chukwu, the mother of the Houston octuplets, went home from the hospital. (XDG, p 4A, 12/30/2003)

Ref: 83

1999

Jan 31

Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham present what they called convincing proof that the AIDS virus originated in chimpanzees and spread to people in Africa. (XDG, p 4A, 1/31/2004)

Ref: 83

A panel of medical experts concluded that marijuana has medical benefits for people suffering from cancer and AIDS.

Ref: 70

Mar 22

Acting as his own lawyer, Dr. Jack Kevorkian went on trial on murder charges for the first time, telling a jury in Pontiac, Michigan, he was merely carrying out his professional duty in a videotaped assisted death shown on "60 Minutes." (Kevorkian was convicted of second-degree murder.)

Ref: 70

Dr. Jack Kevorkian is convicted in Pontiac MI, of second-degree murder for giving a patient with Lou Gehrig's disease a lethal injection, an action videotaped and broadcast on television. (TWA, 2000)

Ref: 95

Apr 13

Jack Kervorkian was sentenced in Pontiac, Mich., to 10 to 25 years in prison for the second-degree murder of Thomas Youk, whose assisted suicide in 1998 was videotaped and shown on "60 Minutes."

Ref: 70

Kinshasa, the capital of Zaire, is placed under quarantine after an outbreak of the Ebola virus. (XDG, p 4A, 5/09/2000)

Ref: 83

Jun 30

Last two smallpox virus stocks to be destroyed; first deliberate extinction of a species.

Ref: 10

Jul 07

It was the first lawsuit brought by a group of individual smokers to get all the way to the trial stage. And a jury in Miami held cigarette makers liable for marketing a dangerous product that causes deadly diseases (emphysema, lung cancer and other illnesses). The jury held the tobacco industry liable for damages worth hundreds of billions of dollars.

Ref: 4

The Wall Street Journal reports on page 1 that drinking at least one cup of tea a day can cut heart attack risk by 44%.

Ref: 33

An international team of scientists announced it had sequenced the first human chromosome.

Ref: 4

On World AIDS Day, United Nations officials released a report estimating that 11 million children worldwide had been orphaned by AIDS. (XDG, p 4A, 12/1/2000)

Ref: 83

2000

Apr 06

A private company mapping the human genetic blueprint announced it had decoded all of the DNA pieces that make up the genetic pattern of a single human being.

Ref: 64

Apr 17

World finance officials in Washington closed out the most tumultuous meetings in the history of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank with renewed pledges to hasten debt relief for poor countries and increase support for fighting the AIDS epidemic.

Ref: 6

Jun 24

Revising an earlier plan, President Clinton proposed using $58 billion from the growing budget surplus to help senior citizens pay for prescription drugs in 2002.

Ref: 6

Rival scientific teams completed the first rough map of the human genetic code after a ten-year race.

Ref: 70

The 13th International AIDS Conference opened in Durban, South Africa.

Ref: 6

A Florida jury ordered five major tobacco companies to pay smokers a record $145 billion in punitive damages.

Ref: 70

Leaders of the major industrial countries concluded their summit in Japan by announcing a campaign to slash the number of deaths worldwide from AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

Ref: 6

Sep 28

Capping a 12-year battle, the government approved use of the abortion pill RU-486.

Ref: 70

Nov 28

The Netherlands lower house endorses bill to legalise euthanasia, first country in the world.

Ref: 10

2001

The Netherlands legalized mercy killings and assisted suicide for patients with unbearable, terminal illness.

Ref: 70

Jul 02

Robert Tools received the world's first self-contained artificial heart in Louisville, Ky. (He lived 151 days with the device.)

Ref: 70

Pope John Paul II urged President George W. Bush in their first meeting, held at Castel Gandolfo, Italy, to bar creation of human embryos for medical research.

Ref: 70

Aug 09

President George W. Bush approved federal funding only for existing lines of embryonic stem cells.

Ref: 70

Nov 20

Federal health officials approved sale of the world's first contraceptive patch, Ortho-Evra.

Ref: 70

Advanced Cell Technology of Worcester, MA announces it has successfully cloned the first human embryo. The announcement drew great criticism. None of the embryos survived. (XDG, p. 1, 11/26/2001)

Ref: 83

President GW Bush appealed to Congress to outlaw human cloning after scientists in Worcester, MA reported they had cloned the first human embryo. (XDG, p 4A, 11/26/2002)

Ref: 83

Nov 30

Robert Tools, the first person in the world to receive a fully self-contained artificial heart, dies in Louisville, KY, of complications after severe abdominal bleeding. He had lived with the device for 151 days. (XDG, p 4A, 11/30/2002)

Ref: 83

Dec 06

Dr Andrew von Eschenbach, 60, a prostrate cancer expert and surgeon at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston was named as the head of the National Cancer Institute by the White House. (XDG, p 11A, 12/07/2001)

Ref: 83

Dec 09

Authorities confirmed the outbreak of the deadly disease Ebola in Gabon. (XDG, p 4A, 12/09/2002)

Ref: 83

2002

Mar 18

Maud Farris-Luse, onetime hotel maid and mother of seven, recognized by The Guiness Book of World Records as the oldest living person, dies at age 115. (XDG, p 8A, 1/01/2003)

Ref: 83

Aug 06

One-year old, co-joined twins, Maria Teresa Alvarez and Maria de Jesus Quiej-Alvarez, are separated by a team of 50 specialists in a 22-hour operation at Mattel Children Hospital at UCLA. They were joined at the head. Additional surgeries will be required to reconstruct the skulls. (USA Today, p. 2D, 8/13/2002)

Ref: 13

A United Nations report said that for the first time in the 20-year history of the AIDS epidemic, about as many women as men were infected with HIV.

Ref: 70

President Bush orders 510,000 military personnel to receive smallpox vaccinations in an effort to limit the effects of a potential bioterrorist attack. (USA Today, p 5A, 1/07/2003)

Ref: 13

Dec 26

Clonaid, a company that claims to have produced the first human clone, claims that the first human clone, Baby Eve, is born. The claim is still unsubstantiated. (XDG, p 11A, 1/23/2003)

Ref: 83

Dec 27

Clonaid, a company founded by a religious sect that believes in space aliens, announced it had produced the world's first cloned baby, a claim subsequently dismissed by scientists for lack of proof.

Ref: 70

2003

More than two dozen surgeons stopped working in West Virginia to protest the high cost of malpractice insurance. (XDG, p 4A, 1/01/2004)

Ref: 83

Jan 03

Clonaid, a company that claims to have produced the first human clone, says the world's second human clone was born to a Dutch lesbian couple. So far, all reports are unsubstantiated. (XDG, p 11A, 1/23/2003)

Ref: 83

Jan 13

Maria Teresa Quiej Alvarez and Maria de Jesus, cojoined from birth at the skull, return to their native Guatamala five months after being surgically separated. (USA Today, p 8D, 1/14/2003)

Ref: 13

The European Union passed a law this week that will ban the use of most animal tests to develop cosmetic products in the European Union by 2009. (NY Times, p A4, 1/17/2003)

Jan 22

Clonaid, a company that claims to have produced the first human clone, claims the world's third human clone was born to a Japanese couple using the cells of the couple's deceased two-year old son who died 18 months ago. The report, as are all Clonaid reports, are unsubstantiated. (USA Today, p 3A, 1/24/2003)

Ref: 13

Jan 24

Connecticut becomes the first state to take part in the US gov'ts plan to innoculate 500,000 health care workders against smallpox. (Only four doctors agreed to be vaccinated on the first day.) (XDG, p 4A, 1/24/2004)

Ref: 83

Last day in which cigarettes can be advertised in the press, billboards or anywhere else in UK.

Ref: 10

Feb 16

"Dolly" the sheep the first mammal cloned from an adult - was put to death at age 6 after premature aging and disease marred her short existence.

Ref: 70

Apr 23

Global health officials warned travelers to avoid Beijing and Toronto because of an outbreak of SARS.

Ref: 70

May 21

The Florida 3rd District Court of Appeals throws out a $145B verdict against the tobacco industry saying the case should not have been tried as a class action suit. (USA Today, p 4A, 5/22/2003)

Ref: 13

Aug 28

Johns Hopkins Hospital is slated to lose accreditation in internal-medicine citing violations of rules about how long residents may work, according to the Wall Street Journal. (WSJ, p D15, 8/28/2003)

Ref: 33

Oct 04

A sudden outbreak of a severe respiratory illness in the Ukrainian town of Verblian has hospitalized 19 children. (Columbus Dispatch, p A6, 10/04/2003)

Oct 04

Violent eruptions of Indonesia's Mount Lewotobi since August 31 have triggered respiratory distress and skin diseases in over 500 area residents. (Columbus Dispatch, p A6, 10/04/2003)

Oct 11

Doctors in Dallas TX separate two-year old Egyptian twins Ahmed and Mohamed Ibrahim, joined at the skull, after a 34-hour operation. (USA Today, p 3A, 10/16/2003)

Ref: 13

Oct 28

The US Food and Drug Administration rules that THG (tetrahydrogestrinone) is an illegal drug that lacks federal permission for sale in the US. (XDG, p 1B, 3/18/2004)

Ref: 83