Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Category: Moments in History

  • Caterina Sforza of Forli: Warrior and medical alchemist

    Sally MetzlerChicago, Illinois, United States Fearless, beautiful, and cunning, Caterina Sforza (1462–1509) fought heroically to defend her fiefdoms of Imola and Forli until the bitter end. Even the celebrated and infamous Renaissance strategist, Niccolò Machiavelli, remarked that he had met his match in Caterina, and confessed he could not outwit her. Historians laud her as…

  • From candles and swallowing swords to gastroscopy

    George DuneaJames L. FranklinChicago, Illinois, United States In 1806, Philipp Bozzini of Mainz invented an instrument designed to explore the interior of the human body that he called the “Lichtleiter” (light conductor). It had a candle or an oil lamp as a source of light, and he used it to look at the ears, nose,…

  • Because of their race

    Ceres Alhelí Otero PenicheMexico City, Mexico When in 1948 the National Party came to power in South Africa, the all-white government put into effect the racial segregation laws known as apartheid. The non-white population was forced to live, work, and spend their free time in separate neighborhoods. This divided the country’s population into four main…

  • The death of King Mongkut

    Parnreutai ChaiyasatBangkok, Thailand King Mongkut,1 the second son of King Rama II of Siam (now known as Thailand),2 spent most of his life in scholarship as a Buddhist monk before ascending to the throne. He studied traditional Siamese astrology, scientific astronomy, and mathematics. In August 1868, he predicted the time of a solar eclipse more…

  • The mysterious illness of Christopher Columbus

    It is well known that Christopher Columbus left Spain in 1492 and sailed westward on three small ships, the Santa María, Niña, and Pinta, in search of a northwest passage to the East Indies. It is perhaps less well known that during the greater part of his expeditions, he suffered from an incapacitating illness that…

  • Healer of the pharaohs: History’s first woman doctor

    Matthew TurnerWashington, US Some 4500 years ago, as the great pyramids rose above the desert sands of Egypt, there lived a remarkable woman. Her name was Peseshet, and she is humanity’s first known woman physician. Peseshet was known by the title imy-r swnwt, which roughly translates to “Lady Overseer of the Lady Physicians.”1 She was…

  • Operation Pedro Pan: Saving Cuban children from communism

    Howard FischerUppsala, Sweden In 1959, lawyer and revolutionary Fidel Castro (1926–2016) overthrew the corrupt, US-supported government of Fulgencio Batista, the dictator of Cuba. Castro promised reforms and democracy. However, early in his regime, members of the Batista government were executed after pro forma trials. Businesses were nationalized in 1960, and the following year, all private…

  • The Royal Society of Medicine of London: A brief history

    Arpan K. BanerjeeSolihull, England The origins of the Royal Society of Medicine in London can be traced back to 1805. It was in that year that a breakaway group of learned physicians and surgeons formed a new medical society, the Medical and Chirurgical Society of London. They met first in Gray’s Inn, the legal area…

  • The surgeon’s photograph of the Loch Ness monster

    Howard FischerUppsala, Sweden “Whatever is the truth, there is no denying that Nessie will continue to intrigue the world for years to come.”– Johnathan Bright, Oxford Internet Institute Loch Ness, at thirty-seven kilometers long and 230 meters deep at its deepest point, is the second largest lake in Scotland.1 Stories about a creature of great…

  • Robert the Bruce

    Robert the Bruce and leprosy King Robert I of the Scots (1274–1329), better known as Robert the Bruce, is revered in Scotland as a national hero. He is principally remembered for defeating the English at Bannockburn in 1314 and thereby restoring the independence of Scotland for several centuries. He presents a medical as well as…