January 6 – On This Day in Medical History

Medical milestones, landmark publications, and notable births and deaths associated with January 6.

Events

1968 – Norman E. Shumway (1923-2006), performed the first successful human heart transplant in the United States. at the Stanford Medical Center in Stanford, California


Births

1714 – Sir Percivall Pott (1714-1788), English surgeon. Described Pott fracture (1768), Pott puffy tumour, Pott puffy tumour, Pott cancer and Pott disease

1809 – Henri-Louis Roger (1809-1891), French paediatrician; described Bruit de Roger (Roger’s murmur) (1879) and Maladie de Roger (Roger’s disease)


Deaths

1891 – Hugh Owen Thomas (1834-1891), Welsh Orthopaedic Surgeon. Described the Thomas test (1875) and invented the Thomas knee splint (1865), Thomas collar and Thomas wrench

1916 – Sir Frederic William Hewitt (1857-1916), English anaesthetist; inventor of the Hewitt airway (1908)


Further reading

BA MA (Oxon) MBChB (Edin) FACEM FFSEM. Emergency physician, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. Passion for rugby, medical history, medical education, and asynchronous learning #FOAMed evangelist. Editor-in-Chief and Webmaster of Life in the Fast lane, LITFL | On Call 4e| Eponyms | Books | Horology |