December 24 – On This Day in Medical History

Medical milestones, landmark publications, and notable births and deaths associated with December 24.

Events

1801 – In Vienna, Emperor Francis I of Austria moved to suppress the theory of “cranioscopy” (early phrenological cerebral localisation) devised by Franz Josef Gall (1758-1828). He condemned it as materialist and “contrary to religion”, a revealing moment when brain science collided with the politics of the soul:

This doctrine concerning the head, which is talked about with enthusiasm will perhaps cause a few to loose their heads and it leads to materialism, therefore is opposed to the first principles of morals and religion…

Emperor Francis of Austria. December 24, 1801
Births

1936 – Guy Hugues Fontaine (1936-2018), French cardiologist and electrophysiolgist. Coined the term arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia (ARVD), the epsilon wave, and Fontaine leads

Deaths

1916 – Edgard Hirtz (1849-1916), German born, French trained physician; described Hirtz Sign (1911)

1927 – Vladimir Mikhailovich Bekhterev (1857-1927), Russian neurologist. Best known for noting the role of the hippocampus in memory; his study of reflexes; and Bekhterew disease (ankylosing spondylitis)

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 |