UCLA Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation was Established
In 1945, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation was founded by a group…
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt wrote Vannevar Bush setting in motion the National Science Foundation
On Nov. 17, 1944, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt wrote a letter to to Vannevar Bush, head of the…
Biology | Diagnostics | Disease | Infectious Disease | Life Science History | Medicine | Non-Profit Research | Therapeutics
Fort Lewis General Hospital was redesignated Madigan General Hospital
On Sept. 22, 1944, the War Department General Order Number 76 officially redesignated Fort Lewis General Hospital as…
Albert Hofmann self-tested lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)
On Apr. 16, 1943, Albert Hofmann tested synthesized lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) on himself. LSD-25, as originally known…
Leo Kanner published the first clinical description of 11 children with autism
In 1943, Leo Kanner, a child psychiatrist at Johns Hopkins University, published the first clinical description of 11…
The Pap smear was introduced into medical practice
In 1943, George Nicholas Papanicolaou and Herbert Traut published their landmark book “Diagnosis of Uterine Cancer by the…
The Detroit Institute for Cancer Research was founded
In 1943, The Detroit Institute for Cancer Research was incorporated with just $483 and 200 shares of General…
Dr. Jonas Salk arrived at the University of Michigan School of Public Health
In 1942, Dr. Jonas Salk arrived at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. Techniques earned there…
Mayo research led to the development of an anti-blackout suit worn by American fliers in World War II
In 1942, the U.S. government with the military secretly tasked a small group of Mayo Clinic physicians and…
The Hormel Institute was founded
In 1942, The Hormel Institute was founded by Jay C. Hormel in Austin to research and find a…
Agriculture | Biology | Life Science History | Medicine | Nanotechnology | Non-Profit Research | Therapeutics | Veterinary
The Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College’s first PhD was awarded
In 1942, the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College’s first Ph.D. was awarded to Nathan Sugarman in chemistry. In…
Dr. William Hutchinson joined the Swedish Tumor Institute
In 1942, Dr. William Hutchinson began a 47 year career in Seattle, Washington when he joined the Swedish…
Red Cross begins National Blood Donor Service to collect blood for the U.S. military
On Feb. 4, 1941, the Red Cross began a National Blood Donor Service to collect blood for the…
The Priestley Medal awarded to Thomas Midgley
In 1941, the Priestley Medal was awarded to Thomas Midgley by the American Chemical Society “to recognize distinguished…
Biology | Diagnostics | Disease | Life Science History | Medicine | Oncology | Radiology | Therapeutics
Texas State Cancer Hospital (MD Anderson) was created by Texas Legislature
In 1941, Texas State Cancer Hospital, now known as the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, was…
The new Medical College of Virginia Hospital (MCV West Hospital) opened to national acclaim
In 1941, the Medical College of Virginia Hospital (MCV West Hospital) opened to national acclaim. The largest donation…
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…
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…
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…
Edwin Cohn developed cold ethanol fractionation
In 1940, Edwin Cohn, a professor of biological chemistry at Harvard Medical School, developed cold ethanol fractionation, the…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Embryologist E.E. Just published The Biology of the Cell Surface
In 1939, embryologist E.E. Just published The Biology of the Cell Surface, and pioneered ideas about the importance…
Agriculture | Biology | Diagnostics | Infectious Disease | Life Science History | NIH | Therapeutics | Vaccine
Herald R. Cox discovered that rickettsiae could be cultivated successfully in the yolk-sacs of chick embryos
On Dec. 23, 1938, Herald R. Cox published: Use of Yolk Sac of Developing Chick Embryo as Medium…
Albert Hofmann synthesized lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)
On Nov. 16, 1938, Albert Hofmann at Sandoz synthesized lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). LSD-25, as originally known when…
The British Columbia Cancer Institute opened in Vancouver
On Nov. 5, 1938, the British Columbia Cancer Institute, BC Cancer’s first cancer treatment centre officially opened in…