This Week in Health History

Actually, it has been an interesting week, for those of us interested in obscure and not so obscure events, that have been relegated to a dusty history book. Or in this case, a dusty website.

November 1, 1815. Dr. Crawford Williamson Long was born. Great, you’re thinking, who the hell is he? Well, anyone who has ever had surgery should appreciate the efforts of this doctor. Although Dr. William Morton is usually associated with ether, Long was the first to actually use it as an anesthetic. On March 30, 1842, Dr. Long painlessly removed a tumor from the patient’s neck.

November 3, 1915. Dr. George Miller Sternberg died on this date. Another unknown name, you may think. Well, Dr. Sternberg began his career as an assistant surgeon in the Union army and was even captured during the Civil War. From there, he went on to become a leading bacteriologist, participating in the Havana Yellow Fever Commission in 1879. He identified the malaria plasmodium; and discovering pneumococcus, a nasty little pathogen that can cause a form of pneumonia. He also became surgeon general of the US in 1893, and was instrumental in establishing the Army Medical School in 1893, the Typhoid Fever Board in 1898, the Army nurse corps and the Army dental corps. Quite a career if you ask me.

November 6, 1861. Dr. James A. Naismith is born, and anyone who loves basketball knows who this guy is. A Canadian physician and physical education teacher, Naismith is credited with creating the game of basketball.

November 7, 1867. Marya Sklodowska, better known as Marie Curie, was born. Most people, I assume, have heard of her. The first person to win two Nobel prizes, and perhaps still the only woman to ever win two. She is best known for isolating the elements radium and polonium, and ironically, it was her exposure to radiation that eventually killed her. Her work eventually led to the development of X-rays and and isotope techniques for both the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. And another relatively unknown nugget of information–she was the first woman in Europe to receive a PhD.

And today in history, in 1821, a date pharmacists should be familiar with. A group of apothecaries met at Carpenters’ Hall in Philadelphia, with the goal of establishing better scientific standards training for apothecary students and apprentices. A year later, the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy opened its doors, the first such college in the United States.

Time Travel

Check out Kas Log where you can learn how to travel backwards in time. Yes, it’s true, time travel is possible. We are moving backwards right at this moment, right as I type this note. Bush is taking us backwards in time. Right now we are circa 1950, and if he has his way, we may end up back in the dark ages. Imagine that. Bloodletting for sickness will be back in vogue, leaches will suck our blood, and surgery performed without anesthesia. We will believe that the world is flat, that the sun orbits the earth, and that anyone who relieves the pain of a woman in childbirth is a witch.