August 25 – On This Day in Medical History

Medical milestones, landmark publications, and notable births and deaths associated with August 25.

Events

2020 — The Africa Regional Certification Commission certified the WHO African Region free of indigenous wild poliovirus after four years without a case, marking a major milestone achieved through decades of vaccination, surveillance, and regional partnerships. Note: Certification applied to wild poliovirus; outbreaks of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus can still occur and require ongoing immunisation and surveillance

Births

1841 – Emil Theodor Kocher (1841-1917), Swiss Surgeon; decribed the Kocher Reflection, Kocher sign, Kocher manoeuvre (Kocherization), Kocher manoeuvre (shoulder), Kocher method, and many more…

1927 – Josef Thurner (1927-2025), Austrian pathologist; described May–Thurner Syndrome (1956)

Deaths

1910 – Eduard Heinrich Henoch (1820-1910), German Paediatrician; described Henoch-Schönlein Purpura (1868)

1923 – James Leonard Corning (1855-1923), American neurologist; credited with performing the first recorded neuraxial anaesthetic (1885).

Further reading
On This Day in Medical History

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 |