Tag: History Essays
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Hilary Koprowski and the polio vaccine
Eugene KucharzKatowice, Poland Hilary Koprowski (Fig. 1) was born on December 5, 1916, in Warsaw, Poland. At the age of five, he was already playing the piano, and at the age of twelve, began studying at the Warsaw Conservatory of Music. He graduated from Mikołaj Rej High School in Warsaw and then earned a medical…
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Inns or coffee houses?
JMS PearceHull, England Humans throughout history have resorted to drugs to stimulate or tranquilize their moods and feelings. Most were of herbal origin, the choice determined by their effects, local availability, and trading. But social factors and politics also played a part. Soon after the Republicans executed King Charles 1 in 1649, the dictatorial Oliver…
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Thomas Hume’s recollections of the public execution of William Burke
Daniel PatroneOneonta, New York, United States In the early nineteenth century, the rapid advancement of anatomical science created a surging demand for human cadavers. Given the woefully inadequate legal supply of cadavers, this demand fueled the rise of a lucrative but illicit industry of graverobbers or “resurrection men” who supplied bodies to anatomists through unscrupulous…
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Lord Melbourne (1779–1848): Mentor of Queen Victoria
Lord William Melbourne, Queen Victoria’s well-known prime minister, descended from the great landed aristocracy that had ruled Great Britain for most of the eighteenth century. Some of their members had sat in Parliament for many years, including one who never opened his mouth during his forty-year tenure.1 For most of his life, Lord Melbourne had…
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The medical interests of Sir Walter Raleigh
Christopher DuffinLondon, England Sir Walter Raleigh (1552–1618; Fig. 1) was a prominent character in Elizabethan England. A one-time favorite of the Queen, he led a rich and varied life as an adventurer and explorer, statesman, soldier, and author. Less well-known is his interest in alchemy and medicine. In 1591, Raleigh married one of the Queen’s…
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The “Blue Death:” Cholera’s reign of terror
Richard de GrijsSydney, Australia Cholera—the “Blue Death” and, in the words of one witness, “one of the most ghastly experiences a disease could inflict on a human being”1—emerged in the early 1800s from the Ganges delta, traveling along the routes of global trade2 and religious pilgrimage.3 This waterborne disease could transform proud vessels into floating…
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The Semmelweis Museum of Medical History, Budapest
Arpan K. BanerjeeSolihull, England Museums on medical themes are uncommon and generally scattered worldwide. Budapest features the Semmelweis Museum, dedicated to one of Hungary’s greatest physicians and the history of medical advances in Hungary. It is the birthplace and childhood home of Ignaz Semmelweis, born there on July 1, 1818. His father had a grocer’s…
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The early death of Alfonso XII
Nicolas RoblesBadajoz, Spain ¿Dónde vas Alfonso XII?¿Dónde vas triste de ti?Voy en busca de MercedesQue ayer tarde no la vi. Where are you going, Alfonso XII?Where are you going so blue?I am looking for MercedesYesterday I did not see her. —Popular Spanish song King Alfonso XII of Spain was born in Madrid on November 28,…
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Below decks, a different war
Richard de GrijsSydney, Australia In October 1770, H.M. Bark Endeavour limped into the port of Batavia, capital of the Dutch East Indies (present-day Jakarta, Indonesia), after having almost foundered on the Great Barrier Reef. The hardy crew of Captain James Cook (1728–1779), although renowned for their good health throughout the three-year voyage (1768–1771), soon fell…
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Louis XIV’s anorectal fistula and its influence on surgical innovation
Neal ChanBoston, Massachusetts, United States King Louis XIV—also known as the Sun King—ruled France from 1643 to 1715. He not only expanded France’s territorial and cultural influence but solidified his status as a sovereign ruler only a half-step below a god. Through absolute control of the nobility, gentry, and landowners, he made France the dominant…