Medical milestones, landmark publications, and notable births and deaths associated with August 8.

Events

1993 — Australian Commonwealth Minister for Health approved Emergency Medicine as a principal medical specialty. A significant milestone for the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM) and the formal recognition of emergency care in Australia and New Zealand

---

Births

1762 – Giovanni Battista Montéggia (1762-1815), Italian surgeon; described Montegia Fracture (1812). First to describe the pathology of gonorrhoeal arthritis, Annotazioni pratiche sopra i mali venerei (1794), an observation for which Sir Benjamin Brodie is usually credited.

1763 — Thomas Spens (1763-1842), Scottish physician provided first written description of  Stokes-Adams syndrome (1792)

1835 – Thomas George Morton (1835-1903), American general surgeon; described Morton’s neuroma; Morton’s neuralgia and Morton’s metatarsalgia

1914 — William Alexander McRoberts Jr (1914-2006), American obstetrician; described McRoberts Manoeuvre as a first-line procedure in the management of shoulder dystocia

---

Deaths

1903 – Karel Maydl (1853-1903), Czech surgeon; described Maydl’s hernia (1898), Maydl’s Operation [Colostomy] (1883), and Maydl’s Method

1996 – Harry Angelman (1915-1996), English paediatrician; described Angelman syndrome (1965)

---

Further reading

• ACEM’s Journey to Today