Plague epidemics and the evolution of language in England
Andrew P. K. Wodrich Washington, DC, United States Pierart dou Tielt’s illustration depicts the mortal toll of the Black Death in a Belgian town circa 1353. Similarly, the plague decimated the population of England, spurring the change from French to English as the country’s dominant spoken language. Via Wikimedia Commons here. Epidemics have had a profound impact […]
The death of Zachary Taylor: the first presidential assassination or a bad bowl of cherries?
Kevin R. Loughlin Boston, Massachusetts, United States Figure 1: Senator Foote pulling a revolver on Senator Benton on Senate Floor. The quote above Benson’s head reads, “Get out of the way and let the assassin fire! Let the scoundrel use his weapon! I have no arm’s(sic) I didn’t come here to assassinate.” Library of […]
Women in the medical profession: the trial of Jacoba Felicie de Almania
Mariel Tishma Chicago, Illinois, United States A meeting of doctors at the university of Paris. From the “Chants royaux” manuscript, Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris. BNF, Français 1537, fol. 27v. Source In November 1322 a group of folk healers and empirics were put on trial by the Faculty of Medicine from the University of Paris. Their […]
Two great Scots: John and William Hunter
B. Herold Griffith Chicago, Illinois, United States Excerpted from a presentation at the meeting of the Society of Medical History of Chicago October 3, 2006 Portrait of William Hunter. Credit: Hunterian Society loan to the Wellcome Collection. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Of the many surgeons who have had ties to Glasgow over […]
The search for Eisenhower’s adrenal tumor
Kevin R. Loughlin Boston, Massachusetts, United States Figure 1. Letter to KRL from the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology For most Americans, the knowledge of Dwight Eisenhower’s health history is limited to the fact that he had a serious heart attack while president. However, a seemingly casual comment by a non-physician political scientist, Robert […]
A Tale of Two Tonics: Sino-Western psychopharmaceutical modernity in Shanghai, 1936
Richard Zhang Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States Advertisement for Sanatogen in the Shen Bao, October 25, 1936. Source (accessed through Yale University). Shanghai, 1936: Positioned at the Yangtze Delta, this sprawling, bustling seaport was a multiplicity of cities. It was China’s most lucrative commercial hub for many business elites; a lavish, cosmopolitan adopted home for expatriates from at […]
Joseph Merrick, “The Elephant Man”
JMS Pearce Hull, England, United Kingdom Fig 1. The Elephant man and other reminiscences As a specimen of humanity, Merrick was ignoble and repulsive; but the spirit of Merrick, if it can be seen in the form of the living, would assume the figure of an upstanding and heroic man . . .6 The […]
Science versus religion: the medieval disenchantment
JMS Pearce Hull, England Fig 1. An engraving showing a monopod or sclapod, a female Cyclops, conjoined twins, a blemmye, and a cynocephali. By Sebastian Münster 1544. Source History is a novel whose author is the people. -Alfred de Vigny (1797-1863) In medieval times, knowledge, beliefs, and faith were largely centered upon a […]
Trying to conceive: royal fertility issues in Renaissance times
Julius P. Bonello Peoria, Illinois, United States Photos by Julius Bonello Dynasties beget legacies. An enduring legacy is important to all great leaders. However, dynasties need time—time to accomplish major national objectives or memorable feats. Today that is why our elected officials, to pass on a lasting legacy, spend much of their time campaigning […]
A sporting end to Henry II, King of France
Julius P. Bonello Adam Awwad Peoria, Illinois, United States Henry II. Source Since the first wheel rolled out of the mouth of a cave, sports have been a staple in our social fabric. From throwing balls to picking up sticks, from tug-of-war to wrestling, from chess to football, and from horse racing to car […]