Tag: History Essays
-
Johannes Lange of Heidelberg
Johannes Lange of Heidelberg is sometimes credited with being the first to describe what later became known as “chlorosis” but that he called morbus virgineus, the disease of virgins. Born in Silesia in 1485, Lange went to study philosophy at the University of Leipzig, but later found he was more drawn to medicine and migrated…
-
I, Baldwin: Leper king of Jerusalem
Óscar Lamas FilgueiraValencia, Spain Baldwin IV (1161–1185), known as “the Leper King”, was king of Jerusalem during the late twelfth century. Despite developing leprosy in childhood, he ruled during a period of intense military and political instability and personally led his forces to a decisive victory against Saladin at the Battle of Montgisard in 1177.…
-
Mercurochrome
James L. FranklinChicago, Illinois, United States It’s easy to spot a boy… He smells of licorice, he smells of mice, Of Mercurochrome, and vanilla ice.—Ogden Nash, A Boy is a Boy (1961)1 Visiting the World Heritage Ngorongoro Conservation Area on a safari expedition in Tanzania in 2018, I managed to scrape my shin against a sharp rock and…
-
“Fart Proudly”: Benjamin Franklin’s “Prize Question” of 1781
James L. FranklinChicago, Illinois, United States One has no difficulty imagining that flatulence, flatus, or farting might have been a source of humor long before receiving any mention in the historical record. An early example of such humor appears in cuneiform writing of the Sumerians in 1900 BCE and can be traced forward in the…
-
The Popes and the Black Death in Avignon
Avignon in southeastern France stands as one of Europe’s most historically significant cities, commonly remembered as the seat of the Catholic papacy during the 14th century and for its famous bridge immortalized in song. It was a time of conflict and unstable conditions in Italy while the French King Philip IV was exerting pressure on…
-
Enrique IV of Castile, The Impotent
Nicolas RoblesBadajoz, Spain Enrique IV was born on January 5, 1425, in Valladolid, Spain. He was the son of John II of Castile and Maria of Aragon, daughter of King Ferdinand I of Aragon. When John II died on 20 July 1454, Enrique was proclaimed king the following day. Prince Enrique had married Blanche of…
-
Early descriptions of polymyalgia rheumatica and giant cell arteritis
JMS PearceHull, England The accurate depiction of polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) in the 1940s is relatively recent. By contrast, its close relative giant cell arteritis (GCA) was clearly described in 1890. Their early descriptions were separate and the recognition of their overlap did not appear until the 1960s.1,2 The uncertain nature of the condition is shown…
-
The healing oil of Saint Walburga
Christopher DuffinLondon, England Born in what is now Devon around 710, Walburga (also spelled Walpurga) was educated at Wimborne Abbey in Dorset, eventually becoming a nun there. In the 740s she joined her brothers, Willibald and Wunibald, who responded to a call from their uncle, St. Boniface (680–755), to become part of the Anglo-Saxon evangelical…
-
Famous physicians from Geneva, Switzerland
Avi OhryTel Aviv, Israel Geneva, Switzerland is associated with many famous physicians and scientists. Some have been memorialized in street names, buildings, and institutions. Michael Servetus (ca. 1511–1553), a physician and theologian who lived most of his life in France,1 fled to Geneva after being condemned by Catholic authorities in France for the publication of…
-
The last days of Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales (1594–1612)
Christopher DuffinLondon, England As the eldest son of King James I (1566–1625) and Anne of Denmark (1574–1619), Henry Frederick (Fig. 1) was heir apparent to the English throne. His premature death from typhoid fever in 1612 meant that he was succeeded by his younger brother, Charles I (1600–1649). An erudite scholar, enthusiastic sportsman, and highly…