February 16 – On This Day in Medical History

What happened on February 16? Explore notable medical events, breakthroughs, births and deaths from across history in LITFL’s On This Day (OTD)

Medical milestones, landmark publications, and notable births and deaths associated with February 16.

Events

No major medical milestones added for this date yet — this page is being expanded


Births

1858 John Addison Fordyce (1858 –1925), American dermatologist; described Fox–Fordyce disease (1902) [aka Apocrine miliaria], Fordyce spots (Fordyce disease), and Fordyce lesion (Angiokeratoma of the scrotum)

1896 Agostino Crosti (1896-1988), Italian dermatologist; described Crosti syndrome (1951), and Gianotti-Crosti syndrome (1955)


Deaths

1956 Rolland J Whitacre (1909-1956), American anaesthesiologist; invented Whitacre epidural needle tip

2021Bernard Lown (1921-2021) American cardiologist, activist and inventor. Original developer of the DC defibrillator and the cardioverter (1961); Nobel Peace Prize (1985); Lown–Ganong–Levine syndrome (1952)


Further reading

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. Co-founder and CTO of Life in the Fast lane | On Call: Principles and Protocol 4e| Eponyms | Books |

Dr Fergus Brown LITFL Author

MBBS Newcastle University, UK. Currently working at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Perth. Aspiring anaesthetist