Endocrinology
Endocrinology: timeline of key events
Date |
Event |
People |
Places |
Brown-Sequard was a physiologist and neurologist. He is best known for his discovery of the physiology of the spinal cord and the need for the adrenal gland. In addition, he predicted the existence of hormones. He sparked controversy after claiming to have rejuvenated his sexual prowess by injecting himself with extracts of monkey testis. His response to the extracts is now considered to have been placebo but his experiment helped found endocrinology as a discipline.1817-04-08T00:00:00+00008 Apr 1817 | | Charles-Edouard Brown-Sequard was born in Port Louis, MauritiusBrown-Sequard | Port Louis, Mauritius |
Kocher was a physician and medical researcher who was a major pioneer in the fields of applied surgery, neurosurgery and, especially, thyroid surgery and endocrinology. His success in the field of surgery is attributed to his implementation of antiseptic wound treatment, use of special masks on patients for anaesthesia and controlling blood loss during surgery. Kocher was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1909 for his work on the physiology, pathology and surgery of the thyroid. He was the first Swiss person and first surgeon to ever receive the prize. Within the field of neurosurgery he showed that some epilepsy cases were caused by brain tumours that could be surgically removed.1841-08-25T00:00:00+000025 Aug 1841 | | Emil Theodor Kocher was born in Berne, SwitzerlandKocher | University of Berne |
Minkowski was a physiologist and pathologist who put forward the idea that diabetes was caused by the suppression of pancreatic substances. This was based on some experiments he carried out on dogs in 1898, which involved the surgical removal of the pancreas from the dogs and then testing their urine for glucose. His finding suggested that the pancreas contained regulators that could control blood sugar. Minkowski's work laid the foundation for the subsequent discovery of insulin as a treatment for diabetes.
1858-01-13T00:00:00+000013 Jan 1858 | | Oskar Minkowski was born in Aleksotas, Russian Empire (now Lithuania)Minkowski | University of Strasbourg |
Bayliss was a physiologist who, together with Ernest Starling, discovered the first hormone, in 1902. The two scientists named the hormone 'secretin' after the Greek word meaning to set in motion. The hormone helps secrete pancreatic juice when food enters the intestines. Bayliss subsequently worked out how trypsin, an enzyme, formed in the small intestine and the time it took to digest protein. He also saved the lives of many soldiers in World War I by recommending injections of gum-saline injections. This was based on his studies of wound shock. 1860-05-02T00:00:00+00002 May 1860 | | William M Bayliss was born in Wednesbury, Staffordshire, UKBayliss | University College London |
Cushing was a neurosurgeon who was a major pioneer of brain surgery. He is best known for his work on the pituitary gland and for the first to describe Cushing disease, a condition caused by the body producing too much of a hormone called cortisol, often caused by a tumour or excess growth in the pituitary gland. This leads to swelling in the trunk and face. Cushing also identified several varieties of brain tumours and made great advances in their treatment. Many of the operating procedures and techniques now used in surgery of the brain also come from him.1869-04-08T00:00:00+00008 Apr 1869 | | Harvey W Cushing was born in Cleveland, Ohio, USACushing | Johns Hopkins University |
Macleod was a Scottish physician and biochemist who was a key adviser in the original experiments carried out by Frederick Grant Banting Charles Best to establish the use of insulin as a treatment for diabetes. Macleod provided the laboratory space and experimental animals for the work. He was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for helping develop insulin therapy for diabetes in 1923.1876-09-06T00:00:00+00006 Sep 1876 | | John J R Macleod was bornMacleod | University of Aberdeen |
Marine was a pathologist whose discovery in the 1920 that iodine deficiency leads to the swelling of the thyroid gland (goitre) led to the standard practice of adding iodine to table salt to prevent the disease. He established the importance of iodine by studying a large group of school girls in Ohio between 1917 and 1922. The work involved monitoring 4,000 students, half of which were given iodine and the other half were not. It was one of the earliest large-scale experiments to be attempted on humans. 1880-09-20T00:00:00+000020 Sep 1880 | | David Marine was born in Whitleysburg, Maryland, USAMarine | Western Reserve University |
Kendall made several contributions to biochemistry and medicine. He is best known for isolating the steroid cortisone from the adrenal gland cortex, subsequently used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, for which he shared the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1950. He also isolated thyroxine, the main hormone secreted by the thyroid gland which is vital to digestion, heart and muscle function and brain development and bone maintenance. 1886-03-08T00:00:00+00008 Mar 1886 | | Edward Calvin Kendall was born in South Norwalk CT, USAKendall | Mayo Clinic |
Banting was a physician who helped discover and isolate insulin. He also pioneered the extraction of insulin from pigs and cattle and demonstrated its use to treat diabetes in dogs. In 1923 he was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for this work. 1891-11-14T00:00:00+000014 Nov 1891 | | Frederick Grant Banting was born in Alliston, CanadaGrant | University of Toronto |
Moore was a zoologist who devoted his career to studying the reoproductive tract of male mammals and the physiology of spermatozoa. He played a pivotal role in 1929 in isolating the testicular secretion containing the male sex hormones andresterone and testosterone. This discovery opened up the path to researching the chemical composition of the hormones and their production.
1892-12-05T00:00:00+00005 Dec 1892 | | Carl R Moore was born in Missouri, USAMoore | University of Chicago |
Brown-Sequard was a Mauritian physiologist and neurologist. He is best known for his discovery of the physiology of the spinal cord and the need for the adrenal gland. In addition, he predicted the existence of hormones. He sparked controversy after claiming to have rejuvenated his sexual prowess by injecting himself with extracts of monkey testis. His response to the extracts is now considered to have been placebo but his experiment helped found endocrinology as a discipline. 1894-04-02T00:00:00+00002 Apr 1894 | | Charles-Edouard Brown-Sequard diedBrown-Sequard | |
Hench was a physician who helped to discover cortisone, a hormone of the adrenal cortex, and demonstrate its utility for treating rheumatoid arthritis. Early on he hypothesised that steroids could alleviate the pain associated with the disease, but the difficulty and expense of production hindered his ability to try out his theory. The clinical trials were finally carried out in 1948 and 1949. Hench was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine for his work in 1950. He headed up the Department of Rheumatic Diseases at the the Mayo Clinic.1896-02-28T00:00:00+000028 Feb 1896 | | Philip Showalter Hench was born in Pittsburgh PA, USAHench | Mayo Clinic |
The child of Polish-Jewish parents, Reichstein was a chemist who in 1933 managed to synthesise vitamin C. His name is associated now with the industrial process for the artificial synthesis of vitamin C. In 1950 he shared the Nobel Prize for Medicine for helping to isolate and explain the function of the hormones of the adrenal cortex and its therapeutic value for treating rheumatoid arthritis. He spent the last three decades of his life working on the phytochemistry and cytology of ferns. 1897-07-20T00:00:00+000020 Jul 1897 | | Tadeus Reichstein was born in Wloclawek, PolandReichstein | Basel University |
An American-Canadian physiologist, Best is best known as the medical student who helped Frederick Banting discover insulin, a pancreatic hormone, which laid the foundation for the effective treatment of diabetes. In 1923 he was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for the discovery. 1899-02-27T00:00:00+00001899 | | Charles H Best was born in West Pembroke, ME, USABest | University of Toronto |
Huggins was a surgeon and medical researcher who shared the 1966 Nobel Prize for showing the relationship between certain hormones and certain cancers. In 1941 he demonstrated that it was possible to slow down the growth of prostrate cancer using oestrogen, a female hormone. This is now a common method for treating prostrate cancer. Later on Huggins demonstrated that it was possible to slow down some breast cancers by removing the ovaries and adrenal glands which produce oestrogen. Drugs to block the body's production of oestrogen are now routinely used for treating breast cancer. 1901-09-22T00:00:00+000022 Sep 1901 | | Charles B Huggins was born Halifax, CanadaHuggins | University of Chicago |
Sutherland was a pharmacologist and biochemist who helped work out the action of hormones at the molecular level. He made several breakthroughs, including the identification of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cyclic AMP), a substance that acts as a secondary messenger in cells and has an important role in the actions of hormones at the cellular level. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1971 on the back of this work. 1915-11-19T00:00:00+000019 Nov 1915 | | Earl W Sutherland was born in Burlingame, Kansas, USASutherland | Vanderbilt University |
Kocher was a Swiss physician and medical researcher who was a major pioneer in the fields of applied surgery, neurosurgery and, especially, thyroid surgery and endocrinology. His success in the field of surgery is attributed to his implementation of antiseptic wound treatment, use of special masks on patients for anaesthesia and controlling blood loss during surgery. Kocher was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1909 for his work on the physiology, pathology and surgery of the thyroid. He was the first Swiss person and first surgeon to ever receive the prize. Within the field of neurosurgery he showed that some epilepsy cases were caused by brain tumours that could be surgically removed. 1917-07-27T00:00:00+000027 Jul 1917 | | Emil Theodor Kocher diedKocher | University of Berne |
The hormone was discovered by Herbert Evans and Joseph Long when they treated rats with extracts from bovine anterior pituitary glands which they found increased their growth. They published their findings in HM Evans, JA Long, 'The effect of the anterior lobe administered intraperitoneally upon growth maturation, and oestrus cycles of the rat', Anatomical Record, 21 (1921) 62–63.1921-01-01T00:00:00+00001921 | | Human growth hormone discovered Evans, Long | |
Yalow was a medical physicist who made her name by helping to develop the radioimmunoassay (RIA) technique. RIA uses two reagents. One is a radioisotope atom bound to a molecule of the target substance and the other is an antibody that will bind to the target substance when the two are in contact. Measurements are taken of the initial radioactivity of the mixture which is then added to a measured quantity of fluid, such as blood, that contains low concentrations of an unknown target substance. The test takes advantage of the fact that antibodies prefer to attach to non-radioactive molecules. Measurements are taken of the reduction in radioactivity of the antibody reagent to calculate the concentration of the target substance. The RIA method is now an important component in diagnostic tests, being used to measure the concentration of hormones, vitamins, viruses, enzymes, drugs and other substances. The technique transformed the diagnosis and treatment of diabetes and other hormonal problems related to growth, thyroid function and fertility. It is used to test for phenylketonuria in newborn babies, a rare inherited disorder that if left untreated can lead to intellectual disability, seizures, behavioral problems and mental disorder. In 1977 Yalow became the second woman in history to win the Nobel Prize. It was awarded on the basis of her RIA work. 1921-07-19T00:00:00+000019 Jul 1921 | | Rosalyn Yalow was born in New York, USAYalow | Veterans Administration Hospital |
Guillemin was a physiologist who shared the 1977 Nobel Prize for Medicine for showing that the hypothalamus in the brain releases hormones that regulate the pituitary gland. He helped to discover and isolate a number of hormones including TRH (thyrotropin-releasing hormone), which regulates thyroid activity; GHRH (growth hormone-releasing hormone), which causes the pituitary to release gonadotropin; and somatostatin, which regulates the activities of the pituitary gland and the pancreas. He also discovered endorphins, a class of proteins that are involved in the perception of pain. 1924-01-11T00:00:00+000011 Jan 1924 | | Roger Guillemin was born in Dijon, FranceGuillemin | Salk Institute |
Bayliss was a British physiologist who, together with Ernest Starling, discovered the first hormone, in 1902. The two scientists named the hormone 'secretin' after the Greek word meaning to set in motion. The hormone helps secrete pancreatic juice when food enters the intestines. Bayliss subsequently worked out how trypsin, an enzyme, formed in the small intestine, and the time it took to digest protein. He also saved the lives of many soldiers in World War I by recommending injections of gum-saline injections. This was based on his studies of wound shock.1924-08-27T00:00:00+000027 Aug 1924 | | William M Bayliss diedBayliss | University College London |
Schally was an endocrinologist who won the 1977 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for isolating and synthesising three hormones produced by the hypothalmus in the brain which control the activities of hormone producing glands. The hormones he worked on were TRH (thyrotropin-releasing hormone), LHRH (luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone), and the peptide somatostatin. His work led to recognition of the hypothalmus as the controlling factor of the pituitary gland and opened a new chapter for research into fertility, contraception, diabetes, abnormal growth, mental retardation as well as depression and other mental disorders. 1926-11-30T00:00:00+000030 Nov 1926 | | Andrew V Schally was born in Wilno (now Vilnius), Poland (now Lithuania)Schally | Veterans Administration Hospital |
Minkowski was a German physiologist and pathologist who put forward the idea that diabetes was caused by the suppression of pancreatic substances. This was based on some experiments he carried out on dogs in 1898, which involved the surgical removal of the pancreas from the dogs and then testing their urine for glucose. His finding suggested that the pancreas contained regulators that could control blood sugar. Minkowski's research laid the foundation for the subsequent discovery of insulin as a treatment for diabetes. 1931-07-18T00:00:00+000018 Jul 1931 | | Oskar Minkowski diedMinkowski | University of Strasbourg |
Macleod was a Scottish physician and biochemist who was a key adviser in the original experiments carried out by Frederick Grant Banting Charles Best to establish the use of insulin as a treatment for diabetes. Macleod provided the laboratory space and experimental animals for the work. He was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for helping develop insulin therapy for diabetes in 1923. 1935-03-16T00:00:00+000016 Mar 1935 | | John J R Macleod diedMacleod | University of Aberdeen |
Gram was a Danish bacteriologist who developed a method to quickly identify two different large groups of bacteria. His method is now routinely used for histology and microbiology. Bacteria that absorb the stain which turn purple are known as Gram positive bacteria, and those that do not absorb the stain, which might be coloured pink with a counterstain, are labelled Gram negative. 1938-11-14T00:00:00+000014 Nov 1938 | | Hans C J Gram died Gram | University of Copenhagen |
Cushing was an American neurosurgeon who was a major pioneer of brain surgery. He is best known for his work on the pituitary gland and for the first to describe Cushing disease, a condition caused by the body producing too much of a hormone called cortisol, often caused by a tumour or excess growth in the pituitary gland. This leads to swelling in the trunk and face. Cushing also identified several varieties of brain tumours and made great advances in their treatment. Many of the operating procedures and techniques now used in surgery of the brain also come from him.1939-10-07T00:00:00+00007 Oct 1939 | | Harvey W Cushing diedCushing | Johns Hopkins University |
Banting was a Canadian physician who helped discover and isolate insulin. He also pioneered the extraction of insulin from pigs and cattle and demonstrated its use to treat diabetes in dogs. In 1923 he was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for this work.
1944-02-21T00:00:00+000021 Feb 1944 | | Frederick Grant Banting diedBanting | University of Toronto |
Moore was an American zoologist who devoted his career to studying the reoproductive tract of male mammals and the physiology of spermatozoa. He played a pivotal role in 1929 in isolating the testicular secretion containing the male sex hormones andresterone and testosterone. This discovery opened up the path to researching the chemical composition of the hormones and their production. 1955-10-16T00:00:00+000016 Oct 1955 | | Carl R Moore diedC Moore | University of Chicago |
Hench was a physician who helped to discover cortisone, a hormone of the adrenal cortex, and demonstrate its utility for treating rheumatoid arthritis. Early on he hypothesised that steroids could alleviate the pain associated with the disease, but the difficulty and expense of production hindered his ability to try out his theory. The clinical trials were finally carried out in 1948 and 1949. Hench was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine for his work in 1950. He headed up the Department of Rheumatic Diseases at the the Mayo Clinic. 1965-03-30T00:00:00+000030 Mar 1965 | | Philip Showalter Hench diedHench | Mayo Clinic |
Collip was a Canadian biochemist refined methods to remove and purify insulin. By experimenting with bovine pancreas in 1921, Colip found a way of producing insulin in a form that was suitable for clinical use in patients. He subsequently managed to isolate the parathyroid hormone that regulates serum calcium through its effects on bone, kidney and intestine. In addition he devised a method for measuring serum calcium. 1965-06-19T00:00:00+000019 Jun 1965 | | James B Collip diedCollip | University of Toronto, McGill University |
Kendall made several contributions to biochemistry and medicine. He is best known for isolating the steroid cortisone from the adrenal gland cortex, subsequently used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, for which he shared the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1950. He also isolated thyroxine, the main hormone secreted by the thyroid gland which is vital to digestion, heart and muscle function and brain development and bone maintenance. 1972-05-04T00:00:00+00004 May 1972 | | Edward Calvin Kendall diedKendall | Mayo Clinic |
Sutherland was an American pharmacologist and biochemist who helped work out the action of hormones at the molecular level. He made several breakthroughs, including the identification of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cyclic AMP), a substance that acts as a secondary messenger in cells and has an important role in the actions of hormones at the cellular level. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1971 on the back of this work.1974-03-09T00:00:00+00009 Mar 1974 | | Earl W Sutherland diedSutherland | Vanderbilt University |
Marine was a American pathologist whose discovery in the 1920 that iodine deficiency leads to the swelling of the thyroid gland (goitre) led to the standard practice of adding iodine to table salt to prevent the disease. He established the importance of iodine by studying a large group of school girls in Ohio between 1917 and 1922. The work involved monitoring 4,000 students, half of which were given iodine and the other half were not. It was one of the earliest large-scale experiments to be attempted on humans.1976-11-26T00:00:00+000026 Nov 1976 | | David Marine diedMaine | Western Reserve University |
An American-Canadian physiologist, Best is best known as the medical student who helped Frederick Banting discover insulin, a pancreatic hormone, which laid the foundation for the effective treatment of diabetes. In 1923 he was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for the discovery. 1978-03-31T00:00:00+00001978 | | Charles H Best diedBest | University of Toronto |
Collip was a Canadian biochemist refined methods to remove and purify insulin. By experimenting with bovine pancreas in 1921, Colip found a way of producing insulin in a form that was suitable for clinical use in patients. He subsequently managed to isolate the parathyroid hormone that regulates serum calcium through its effects on bone, kidney and intestine. In addition he devised a method for measuring serum calcium.
1982-11-20T00:00:00+000020 Nov 1982 | | James B Collip was born in Belleville, Ontario, CanadaCollip | University of Toronto, McGill University |
Butenandt was a German biochemist. In 1931 he managed to extract estrone and other primary female sex hormones from urine. Three years later he extracted progeterone and testosterone a year later. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1939 for his discovery of sex hormones. Initially Butenandt rejected the Prize in accordance with Nazi government policy, but accepted it in 1949. His involvement with the Nazi regime and science to aid its war efforts led to criticism after World War II. He served as the president of the Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science between 1960 and 1972.1995-01-18T00:00:00+000018 Jan 1995 | | Adolf F J Butenandt diedButenandt | Max Planck Institute |
The child of Polish-Jewish parents, Reichstein was a chemist who in 1933 managed to synthesise vitamin C. His name is associated now with the industrial process for the artificial synthesis of vitamin C. In 1950 he shared the Nobel Prize for Medicine for helping to isolate and explain the function of the hormones of the adrenal cortex and its therapeutic value for treating rheumatoid arthritis. He spent the last three decades of his life working on the phytochemistry and cytology of ferns. '.1996-08-01T00:00:00+00001 Aug 1996 | | Tadeus Reichstein diedReichstein | Basel University |
Huggins was a Canadian surgeon and medical researcher who shared the 1966 Nobel Prize for showing the relationship between certain hormones and certain cancers. In 1941 he demonstrated that it was possible to slow down the growth of prostrate cancer using oestrogen, a female hormone. This is now a common method for treating prostrate cancer. Later on Huggins showed that it was possible to slow down some breast cancers by removing the ovaries and adrenal glands which produce oestrogen. Drugs to block the body's production of oestrogen are now routinely used for treating breast cancer.1997-01-12T00:00:00+000012 Jan 1997 | | Charles B Huggins diedHuggins | University of Chicago |
Yalow was an American medical physicist who made her name by helping to develop the radioimmunoassay (RIA) technique. RIA uses two reagents. One is a radioisotope atom bound to a molecule of the target substance and the other is an antibody that will bind to the target substance when the two are in contact. Measurements are taken of the initial radioactivity of the mixture which is then added to a measured quantity of fluid, such as blood, that contains low concentrations of an unknown target substance. The test takes advantage of the fact that antibodies prefer to attach to non-radioactive molecules. Measurements are taken of the reduction in radioactivity of the antibody reagent to calculate the concentration of the target substance. The RIA method is now an important component in diagnostic tests, being used to measure the concentration of hormones, vitamins, viruses, enzymes, drugs and other substances. The technique transformed the diagnosis and treatment of diabetes and other hormonal problems related to growth, thyroid function and fertility. It is used to test for phenylketonuria in newborn babies, a rare inherited disorder that if left untreated can lead to intellectual disability, seizures, behavioral problems and mental disorder. In 1977 Yalow became the second woman in history to win the Nobel Prize. It was awarded on the basis of her RIA work. 2011-05-30T00:00:00+000030 May 2011 | | Rosalyn Yalow diedYalow | Veterans Administration Hospital |
Charles-Edouard Brown-Sequard was born in Port Louis, Mauritius
Emil Theodor Kocher was born in Berne, Switzerland
Oskar Minkowski was born in Aleksotas, Russian Empire (now Lithuania)
William M Bayliss was born in Wednesbury, Staffordshire, UK
Harvey W Cushing was born in Cleveland, Ohio, USA
John J R Macleod was born
David Marine was born in Whitleysburg, Maryland, USA
Edward Calvin Kendall was born in South Norwalk CT, USA
Frederick Grant Banting was born in Alliston, Canada
Carl R Moore was born in Missouri, USA
Charles-Edouard Brown-Sequard died
Philip Showalter Hench was born in Pittsburgh PA, USA
Tadeus Reichstein was born in Wloclawek, Poland
Charles H Best was born in West Pembroke, ME, USA
Charles B Huggins was born Halifax, Canada
Earl W Sutherland was born in Burlingame, Kansas, USA
Human growth hormone discovered
Rosalyn Yalow was born in New York, USA
Roger Guillemin was born in Dijon, France
Andrew V Schally was born in Wilno (now Vilnius), Poland (now Lithuania)
Frederick Grant Banting died
Philip Showalter Hench died
Edward Calvin Kendall died
James B Collip was born in Belleville, Ontario, Canada
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