Medical milestones, landmark publications, and notable births and deaths associated with September 23.

Events

1895 – Josef Jadassohn (1863-1936), at the 5^th Congress of German Society of Dermatology in Graz, Austria, presented his findings of an eczematous reaction resulting when previously sensitised patients were exposed to mercurial compounds on intact skin. Patch Testing (“Jadassohn-Bloch Technique”)

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Births

1852 – William Stewart Halsted (1852-1922), American surgeon; invented Halsted Gloves and described Halsted Operation (Radical Mastectomy) and Halsted Syndrome. He performed one of the earliest recorded human-to-human blood transfusions…and so much more

1856 – Charles Barrett Lockwood (1856-1914), English surgeon. Described Lockwood’s operation (1898), Lockwood sign (1932), Lockwood’s suspensory ligament of the eye (1885), and Lockwood’s tendon of the eye (1885)

1902 – Francis (Frank) Edward Stabler (1902-1967), English surgeon, obstetrician and gynaecologist; described Stabler sign (1934)

1907 – Karl-Axel Ekbom (1907-1977), Swedish neurologist. Described Ekbom Syndrome [delusional parasitosis](1938) and Willis-Ekbom syndrome [Restless leg syndrome (RLS)](1944)

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Deaths

1738 – Hermann Boerhaave (1668-1738), Dutch physician, chemist, botanist and Christian humanist; described Boerhaave syndrome (1724)

1957 – Rudolph Matas (1860-1957), American vascular surgeon. Described as the ‘Father of vascular surgery’

1979 – Petrus Johannes Waardenburg (1886-1979), Dutch ophthalmologist and geneticist. One of the founders of clinical genetics and eponymously remembered for his descriptions of Waardenburg syndrome (1951); Waardenburg-Jonkers disease (1961); and Shah-Waardenburg syndrome (1981).

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Further reading

• Jadassohn J. Zur Kenntnis der medicamentösen Dermatosen. Verhandlungen der Deutschen Dermatologischen Gesellschaft : fünfter Congress 1895