May 17 – On This Day in Medical History

Medical milestones, landmark publications, and notable births and deaths associated with May 17.

Events

No major medical milestones added for this date yet — this page is being expanded


Births

1846 – Jacques Rodolphe Edmond Landolt (1846-1926), Swiss-born ophthalmologist; introduced the Landolt C (or Landolt ring) as a universal optotype (1899), and Landolt Bodies (1871)

1861 – Jean-François Calot (1861-1944) was a French surgeon; described Calot’s Triangle (cystohepatic triangle) (1890)

1898 – William Howard Hailey (1898-1967), American dermatologist; described Hailey-Hailey disease (Familial Benign Chronic Pemphigus)


Deaths

1975 — George Quentin Chance (1904-1975), Irish radiologist; described the Chance fracture (1948)

1801 – William Heberden (the Elder) (1710-1801), English physician; Heberden nodes (Digitorum nodi; or de nodis digitorum); first to describe angina pectoris in substantial detail (1872), and first described Henoch-Schönlein Purpura


Further reading

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