After a plague epidemic kills 100,000 people in Naples, Rome begins inspecting all incoming ships
In 1656, after a plague epidemic kills 100,000 people in Naples, Rome began inspecting all incoming ships and…
Boston officials enact an ordinance to prevent infectious diseases from reaching their shore
In 1647, Boston officials enacted an ordinance requiring all arriving ships to stop at the harbor entrance or…
Harvard University was founded
In 1636, Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher learning in the U.S., was founded by a vote…
Florentine scholar Francesco Rondinelli described the use of the “Wine Windows” to prevent the spread of the Plague
In 1634, the Florentine scholar, Francesco Rondinelli, wrote a report about a disease contagion, now known as the…
Sanitary legislation was drawn up in Venice to address plague epidemics
In 1629, sanitary legislation was drawn up in Venice that required health officers to visit homes during plague…
Potatoes from Peru were planted in Germany
In 1621, potatoes from Peru were planted in Germany, another example of foreign microbes finding new homes. Botanist…
Academy of the Lynx-Eyed was founded
In 1603, the Academy of the Lynx-Eyed was founded by Federico Cesi, the first academy of sciences to…
The name ‘influenza’ originated in 15th century Italy
In 1580, the first pandemic or worldwide epidemic, that clearly fit the description of influenza occurred in Italy….
The first maritime quarantine opened in Marseilles, France
In 1521, the first maritime quarantine opened in Marseilles, France. The quarantine system in Marseille lasted from 1620…
History’s first recognized influenza pandemic
In 1510, history’s first recognized influenza pandemic originated in Asia and rapidly spread to other continents through eyewitness…
Venice established the world’s first known maritime quarantine station
In 1403, Venice established the world’s first known maritime quarantine station, or lazaretto, on Santa Maria di Nazareth,…
Ships entering Italian ports during plague outbreaks were required to lie at anchor for forty days (a Quaranta Giorni) prior to docking
In 1377, ships entering Italian ports during plague outbreaks were required to lie at anchor for forty days…
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…
Guy de Chauliac published what will remain the definitive guide for surgeons for the next 300 years
In 1363, Guy de Chauliac published Chirurgia Magna what will become the definitive guide for surgeons for the…
Venice established the world’s first institutionalized system of quarantine
In 1348, Venice established the world’s first institutionalized system of quarantine that gave a council of three the…
The Duke of Milan drew up an edict mandating that all those suffering from plague should be taken outside the city
In 1348, the Duke of Milan drew up an edict mandating that all those suffering from plague should…
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…
Fleas riding on black rats in the holds of Italian ships brought Yersina pestis to the Sicilian port of Messina
In 1346, spread by infected galleys coming from Kaffa (Crimea), the Black Death reached Genoa, as it now…
An Arab chieftain first used artificial insemination to produce superior horses
In 1322, an Arab chieftain first used artificial insemination to produce superior horses.
Spectacles were invented
In 1285, spectacles were invented in Italy using convex lenses for the farsighted. The “Glasses Apostle” painting in…
King John of England proclaimed the first English food law
In 1202, King John of England proclaimed the first English food law, the Assize of Bread, which prohibited…
Quarantines in Europe were common with more than 19,000 leprosaria
In 1200, quarantines in Europe were common with more than 19,000 leprosaria, or houses for leper patients located…
The Third Lateran Council decreed with Canon 23 separate living arrangements for lepers
In 1179, the Third Lateran Council decreed with Canon 23 living arrangements for lepers and how their necessary…
The variolation technique was developed
In 1100, the variolation technique was developed, involving the inoculation of children and adults with dried scab material…
The first hospitals were established in England
From 1050-1350 marked a particularly active phase of the disease that made necessary the introduction of large-scale specialist…
Outbreaks of bubonic plague declined after claiming half of Europe’s population
In 541, an outbreak of bubonic plague (yersina pestis), a bacterial disease later named the Black Plague or…
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…
Potatoes, the world’s most widely grown tuber crop, were first cultivated
Around 8000 BCE, Potatoes, the world’s most widely grown tuber crop, were first cultivated for food in area…
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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…