Medical milestones, landmark publications, and notable births and deaths associated with April 14.

Events

1909 – Brazilian physician Carlos Chagas (1879–1934) documented the first human infection with Trypanosoma cruzi, in a two year old girl, Berenice Soares de Moura. “Berenice, zwei jährige. Sangue: Dia 14-4-09 — Tripanozómidas no sangue periférico…“. Chagas had previously isolated trypanosomes in the intestines of Triatomine bugs (“barber bugs” or “kissing bugs”) and had named the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi in homage to Oswaldo Cruz.

1961 – Thomas Geoffrey Barlow (1915-1975) first presented the Barlow maneuver (Barlow test) to the British Orthopaedic Association at Manchester. His test was based on the results of examining 7,742 children for congenital dislocation of the hip within a week of birth.

2020 – Inaugural World Chagas Disease Day, spotlighting a neglected tropical disease long described as “silent and silenced” because it often progresses slowly with few early symptoms and disproportionately affects people with limited access to care. The date commemorates the 1909 finding of Carlos Chagas

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Births

1815 – John Birkett (1815-1904), English general surgeon. Provided first description of Pipkin femoral head fracture (1869). Designed the Birkett forceps; Birkett artery forceps; and Birkett haemostatic forceps

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

1935 – Nancy Burton Esterly (1935-2017), American pediatric dermatologist; described Esterly-McKusick syndrome (1971)

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Deaths

1916 – Manuel Straub (1858-1916), Dutch ophthalmologist; provided the first human use of fluorescein solution as a diagnostic aid for corneal epithelial defects

1920 – Moritz Benedikt (1835-1920), Austro-Hungarian neurologist; described Benedikt syndrome (1889)

1939 – Frederic Jay Cotton (1869-1939), American Orthopedic Surgeon; described the Cotton fracture (1915), Cotton grip (1910), and Cotton-Loder position

1998 – George Smith Phalen (1911-1998), American Orthopedic Surgeon; described Phalen’s test [Phalen’s maneuver] (1951)

2012 – Charles Miller Fisher (1913-2012), Canadian neurologist; described Miller Fisher syndrome (1956), Heel-Shin test (Heel-knee test) (1961), Fisher grade (1980), and the Fisher test

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Further reading

• Chagas C. Nova tripanozomiaze humana: estudos sobre a morfolojia e o ciclo evolutivo do Schizotrypanum cruzi n. gen, n sp, ajente etiolojico de nova entidade morbida do homem. Mem. Inst. Oswaldo Cruz 1909; 1: 159-218 
• Barlow TG. Early diagnosis and treatment of congenital dislocation of the hip. JBJS. 1962; 44–B (2): 92–301
• World Chagas Disease Day: bringing a forgotten disease to the fore of global attention. WHO
• April 14, is World Chagas Disease Day. WHO