Dr. Zabdiel Boylston inoculated his son against smallpox
On Jun. 26, 1721, smallpox broke out in Boston, threatening to devastate the City. Zabdiel Boylston Adams, a…
The Great Plague of Marseille began
On May 25, 1720, the Great Plague of Marseille began with the arrival of the Grand St Antoine…
A plague epidemic around the Baltic Sea led England to pass the Quarantine Act
In 1712, a plague epidemic around the Baltic Sea led England to pass the Quarantine Act that required…
A Massachusetts statute quarantined victims of the plague, smallpox and other infectious diseases
In 1697, a Massachusetts statute stipulated that all individuals suffering from plague, smallpox, and other infectious diseases must…
The city of Frankfurt, Germany prohibited people living in plague-infected houses from public areas
In 1666, the city of Frankfurt, Germany issued a decree prohibiting people living in plague-infected houses from visiting…
The town of Ragusa in Italy established a quarantine station
In 1370, the town of Ragusa in Italy established a quarantine station where all people arriving from plague-infected…
In an early act of biological warfare, Tartars catapulted the bodies of Plague victims at invading Christians
In 1346, during a siege of Kaffa (now Feodosia, Ukraine), the Tartar army catapulted bodies of plague victims…
Spectacles were invented
In 1285, spectacles were invented in Italy using convex lenses for the farsighted. The “Glasses Apostle” painting in…
Atossa, daughter of Cyrius the Great: the first women diagnosed with breast cancer
In 470, Atossa, daughter of Cyrius the Great became the first women in recorded history to be diagnosed…
Earliest written records and illustrations of breast cancer
The Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus, dated to 3,000-2,500 B.C., and possibly attributable to Imhotep, the Egyptian physician-architect, provided…
Biotechnology | Diagnostics | Disease | Life Science History | Marine Science | Prehistory | Therapeutics
Chinese medical writings recorded decreases in goiter size upon ingestion of seaweed (iodine)
Early Chinese medical writings in approximately 3600 B.C. were the first to record the decreases in goiter size…
DNA evidence of plague found in Europe
Evidence from 4,800 to 3,700 years ago suggested the plague-causing bacterium Yersinia pestis, first arrived in Europe during…