Medical milestones, landmark publications, and notable births and deaths associated with January 28.

Events

1848 — Hannah Greener (15) became the first reported fatality during chloroform anaesthesia. She died within minutes after chloroform was administered on a handkerchief for removal of an ingrown toenail (onychía maligna) at Winlaton, near Newcastle. The case immediately sparked debate over mechanism (dose-related collapse vs airway obstruction/aspiration vs sudden arrhythmia) and helped shape early thinking on anaesthetic safety.

2010 – The UK General Medical Council delivered findings against Andrew Wakefield. They concluded that key elements of the 1998 Lancet MMR–autism paper were incorrect and that the work involved serious ethical and professional misconduct. The GMC judgment prompted The Lancet to state that claims such as “consecutively referred” patients and ethics approval were false and to move toward formal retraction on February 2, 2010.

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Births

1830 – Samuel Thomas von Sömmerring (1755-1830), Prussian polymathic physician. Credited with the naming the 12 pairs of cranial nerves in his graduation thesis (1788), discovering and illustrating the macula lutea (yellow spot) in the human retina (1791)

1823 – Karl Stellwag von Carion (1823-1904), Austrian ophthalmologist; described Stellwag Sign (1869)

1879 – Julia Bell (1879-1979), English human geneticist; described Martin-Bell syndrome (1943) – aka Fragile X Syndrome

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Deaths

1929 – Jean-Athanase Sicard (1872-1929), French physician. Described Sicard’s method (1901) an epidural injection technique in which medication is introduced into the epidural space via the sacral canal

1950 – Cornelia Catharina de Lange (1871-1950), Dutch paediatrician; described Cornelia de Lange syndrome (CdLS) (1933)

1958 – Johannes Jacobus Zoon (1902-1958), Dutch dermatologist; described Balanitis von Zoon (1952)

1961 – James Frederick Brailsford (1888-1961), eminent British Radiologist; described Morquio-Brailsford syndrome (1929) and Brailsford disease (1939)

1972 – Louis Wolff (1898-1972), American cardiologist; described Wolff–Parkinson–White syndrome (1930)

1976 – Niels Lauge-Hansen (1899-1976), Danish Radiologist; defined Lauge-Hansen classification of ankle fractures (1950)

2023 – Mogens Stig Norn (1925–2023), Danish ophthalmologist. Introduced lissamine green vital staining (1973); chief editor Acta Ophthalmologica (1975–1988)

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Further reading

• Pears B. The short, sad life and tragic death of Hannah Greener. 2017
• Wakefield, AJ et al. RETRACTED: Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children. The Lancet, 1998; 351(9103): 637-641
• Dr Andrew Jeremy WAKEFIELD Fitness to Practise Panel, February 28, 2010
• Dyer C. Lancet retracts Wakefield’s MMR paper. BMJ. 2010 Feb 2;340:c696.