Dr. Susan Smith McKinney Steward became the first African-American woman to earn a medical degree in New York state
In 1870, Dr. Susan Smith McKinney Steward was the first African-American woman to ever earn a medical degree…
Boston Children’s Hospital was founded
On Jul. 20, 1869, Children’s hospital was founded in Boston by Dr. Francis Henry Brown, a Civil War…
Detroit Medical College founded
In 1868, Wayne State University was founded by five physicians who witnessed the crude medical treatment on Civil…
Willamette University welcomed its first medical students to its Salem campus
In 1867, less than a quarter century after the Oregon Trail opened, and only eight years after Oregon…
John Shaw Billings, MD, assigned to supervise the Surgeon General’s Library
In 1865, John Shaw Billings, MD, 27-year-old lieutenant colonel, pathologist and bibliophile, assigned to supervise the Surgeon General’s…
William Worrall Mayo opened a medical practice in Rochester, Minnesota
On Jan. 27, 1864, William Worrall Mayo opened a medical practice in Rochester, Minnesota. He had been directed…
Rebecca Lee Crumpler became the first African American woman in the U.S. to earn an M.D. degree
In 1864, Rebecca Lee Crumpler graduated from the New England Female Medical College and becomes the first black…
Kansas State Agricultural College (Kansas State University) was established
On Feb. 16, 1863, Kansas State University, or K-State, was was founded in Manhattan, during the American Civil…
Corvallis academy (Oregon State University) was established
On Jan. 20, 1858, Corvallis academy (Oregon State University) was founded and maintained by the Methodist Episcopal Church,…
Dr. Charles E Brown-Sequard at Medical College of Virginia conducted research on endocrinology
In 1855, Dr. Charles E. Brown-Sequard at Medical College of Virginia conducted research in the basement of the…
Florence Nightingale became known as “The Lady of the Lamp” for healing British soldiers in the Crimean War
On Nov. 4, 1854, pioneering British nurse Florence Nightingale brought a team of women nurses to the Crimean…
The first marine hospital in San Francisco was completed with special funds appropriated by Congress
In 1853, the first marine hospital in San Francisco was completed with special funds appropriated by Congress. The…
The American Pharmaceutical Association (APhA) was founded
On Oct. 6, 1852, the American Pharmaceutical Association (APhA) was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In the fall of…
The Illinois General Hospital incorporated as Mercy Hospital and Orphan Asylum
In 1852, The Illinois General Hospital incorporated as Mercy Hospital and Orphan Asylum, and the County sent its…
America’s first African American with a medical degree, James McCune Smith became founding member of NY Statistics Society
In 1852, James McCune Smith, the first African American to hold a medical degree, was invited as a…
The West Florida Seminary (Florida State University) was founded
On Jan. 24, 1851, the West Florida Seminary (Florida State University) was founded by the Florida General Assembly…
The Female Medical College of Pennsylvania was founded
In 1850, the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania, later known as the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania was…
Surgeon Joseph Lister (Listerine) began the practice of antisepsis
In 1850, surgeon Joseph Lister began the practice of antisepsis, and who was later immortalized in the trade…
The first international sanitary conference was held in Paris, France
In 1850, the first international sanitary conference is held in Paris, France with a goal of making quarantines…
Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman in the U.S. with a medical degree
On Jan. 3, 1849, Elizabeth Blackwell received her M.D. degree from the Medical Institution of Geneva, N.Y., and…
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The American Association for the Advancement of Science was founded
On Sept. 20, 1848, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) was founded which marked the…
Nelson Dewey, Wisconsin’s first governor, signed the act that formally created the University of Wisconsin-Madison
On Jul. 26, 1848, Nelson Dewey, Wisconsin’s first governor, signed the act that formally created the University of…
The New England Female Medical College was founded
In 1848, the New England Female Medical College was founded, becoming the first institution in the U.S. to…
James Moultrie, Jr, MD helped found the American Medical Association
In 1847, James Moultrie, Jr., M.D. (Dean, School of Medicine of the Medical College of the State of…
John Collins Warren provided the first public demonstration of anesthesia in surgery
On Oct. 16, 1846, Harvard Medical School’s first dean, Dr. John Collins Warren, provided the first public demonstration…
Ignaz Semmelweis discovered puerperal fever could be reduced with chlorine solution hand washing
In 1846, Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis, known as the ‘Savior of Mothers,’ discovered that cases of puerperal fever, also…
Lewis Caleb Beck’s “Adulteration of Various Substances Used in Medicine and the Arts” was published
In 1846, Lewis Caleb Beck’s published “Adulteration of Various Substances Used in Medicine and the Arts,” one of…
The first description of allergies was published
On Mar. 16, 1844, John Bostock, Jr., an English physician, published the first description of allergies in Medico-Chirurgical…
The Hampden-Sydney College medical department moved into its first permanent home, the Egyptian Building
In 1844, The Medical Department of Hampden-Sydney College moved into its first permanent home, the Egyptian Building.
Ether used as surgical anesthetic for the first time
On Mar. 30, 1842, Dr. Crawford Long, an American physician and pharmacist in Jefferson, Georgia, used ether for…