January 19 – On This Day in Medical History

Medical milestones, landmark publications, and notable births and deaths associated with January 19.

Events

1847 – Scottish obstetrician, Sir James Young Simpson (1811-1870) made his first use of ether anaesthesia to ease labor pain. However, dissatisfied with ether, Simpson went in search of a better agent. He experimented together with friends in sniffing various agents, while seated around the dinner table and subsequently introduced chloroform on November 8, 1847.

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Births

1906 – Erna Ingeborg Christensen (1906-1967), Danish neuropathologist; described Alper disease (1931)

1932 – Carl-Axel Cedell (1932-2021), Swedish Orthopaedic Surgeon; described the Cedell fracture (1974)

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Deaths

1952 – Sunao Tawara 田原 淳, (1873-1952), Japanese pathologist; described the Tawara node (1906) [AV node]

1983 – Marino Ortolani (1904-1983), Italian pediatrician; described the Ortolani sign and test (1936)

2001 – Gordon Jackson Rees (1918-2001), British anaesthetist. Described the Jackson Rees Technique (1950), and invented the Jackson Rees T-piece (1950), Jackson Rees Tube (1966)

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Further reading

• Simpson JY. Account of a new anæsthetic agent, as a substitute for sulphuric ether in surgery and midwifery. 1847