President Franklin D Roosevelt laid the cornerstone of the Naval Medical Center Center Tower
On Nov. 11, 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) laid the cornerstone of the Tower on Armistice Day…
President Franklin Roosevelt dedicated the first six buildings of NIH
On Oct. 31, 1940, President Franklin Roosevelt dedicated the first six buildings of the NIH. During World War…
Karl Habel produced an improved, killed rabies vaccine that eliminated foreign brain tissue caused paralysis
On Sept. 6, 1940, Karl Habel produced an improved, killed rabies vaccine that eliminated foreign brain tissue that…
The first issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute was published
On Aug. 1, 1940, the first issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI) was published….
Charles Armstrong adapted the Lansing strain of poliomyelitis for polio studies
On Jun. 14, 1940, Charles Armstrong and V. H. Haas published Immunity to the Lansing Strain of Poliomyelitis…
The Squibb Institute obtained cultures of penicillium notatum from the UK and developed deep tank fermentation processes for production of penicillin
In 1940, Squibb obtained cultures of penicillium notatum from the U.K. and developed deep tank fermentation processes for…
Biochemist and bacteriologist Ruby Hirose was recognized by the American Chemical Society for accomplishments in chemistry
In 1940, biochemist and bacteriologist Ruby Hirose was recognized by the American Chemical Society for accomplishments in chemistry….
First sign of antibiotic resistance to Penicillin was reported
In 1940, Edard Abraham and Ernst Chain reported that an E. coli strain was able to inactivate penicillin…
The McArdle Laboratory was founded in Madison
In 1940, the McArdle Memorial Laboratory was founded in Madison. McArdle Lab was one of the first basic…
Biology | Diagnostics | Disease | Life Science History | NIH | Oncology | Rare Disease | Therapeutics
The U.S. government established a national blood collection program
In 1940, the U.S. government established a national blood collection program. That same year the National Research Council…
The influenza B virus was isolated
In 1940, Thomas Francis, Jr, MD isolated the influenza B virus from a child in 1940. Francis helped…
Nikolai Vavilov, perhaps the leading plant geneticist in the world, was arrested in the Ukraine
In 1940, Nikolai Vavilov, perhaps the leading plant geneticist in the world, was arrested while on a collecting…
The first metallic hip replacement surgery was performed
On Sept. 28, 1940, Dr. Austin T. Moore, an American surgeon at Johns Hopkins hospital, and Harold Ray…
Scientists discovered how to purify and preserve penicillin
In 1940, Howard Florey, Ernst Chain and others in England discover how to purify and preserve penicillin. The…
Wendell Johnson at the University of Iowa pioneered fields of speech pathology and audiology
In 1940, Wendell Johnson at the University of Iowa pioneers the fields of speech pathology and audiology. Throughout…
American Oswald Avery isolated pure DNA for the first time, what he called the transforming factor
In 1940, American Oswald Avery precipitates a pure sample of what he calls the transforming factor; he has…
Charles R Drew began blood processing program for English war victims: Plasma for Britain
In 1940, Charles R. Drew, MD, an African American surgeon and Howard University researcher, began an early blood…
Edwin Cohn developed cold ethanol fractionation
In 1940, Edwin Cohn, a professor of biological chemistry at Harvard Medical School, developed cold ethanol fractionation, the…