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1889Significant events in the history of Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine have

coincided and interconnected with those of the city in which the medical school was born 150 years ago. The medical and public health milestones of Chicago as well as the world give context to the medical school’s establishment, rise, and continued success at home and abroad. The following timeline gives us a broader perspective to enjoy and appreciate all that Northwestern has accom-plished in medicine and science with the support of a city that is second to none.Inter-tImed

1859The medical school’s first session begins in early October.

1859Mercy Hospital ends affiliation with Rush Medical College and begins its association with the medical department of Lind University.

1871

1887

1873

1889

1867

1883

1869

1885

1863

1879

1865

1881

1859

1875

1861

1877

1866Cook County takes over city hospital.

1867First tunnel built under Lake Michigan brings fresh water to city inhabitants.

1867Wilhelm Waldeyer-Hartz defines cancer as cell division that becomes uncontrolled.

1868Gerhard Henrik Armauer Hansen studies leprosy and in 1873 discovers the bacteria that causes the disease.

1876Association of American Medical Colleges begins. Northwestern University is a founding member.

1869Edmund Andrews, Mercy Hospital, introduces antiseptic techniques.

1868Meat inspection is instituted at the stock yards.

1869Board of Health initiates vaccination of all children.

1876City’s Department of Health is established.

1871The Great Chicago Fire nearly destroys city.

1861–65Congress establishes act to create ambulance corps.

1861–65U.S. Civil War spurs industrialization in Chicago.War begins under President Abraham Lincoln’s watch.

1863Lind University reorganizes as Lake Forest University.

1866Nathan Smith Davis assumes presidency of the medical school, succeeding Hosmer A. Johnson. He serves until 1870.

1870Nathan Smith Davis becomes dean, serving until 1898.

1869Mary H. Thompson is one of first three women admitted.

1859

HiSTORy of the MEDiCAL SCHOOL

1882Robert Koch identifies the bacteria that causes tuberculosis.

1882Julia Foster Porter opens hospital for the care of children at Halsted Street and Beldon Avenue.

1887NiH traces its roots to a laboratory of hygiene established within the Marine Hospital Service, predecessor to the U.S. Public Health Service.

1886Haymarket Riot derails labor union support with anarchy.

1888Visiting Nurse Association of Chicago is formed.

HiSTORy of CHiCAGO and the WORLD

HiSTORy of MEDiCiNE

HiSTORy of the MEDiCAL SCHOOL

1866Medical thermometer is developed by Sir Thomas Clifford Albutt.

1889A fourth year of curriculum is introduced but not required.

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1921

1891

1895Joseph DeLee establishes the Chicago Lying-in Hospital to provide obstetric care for Chicago’s poor.

1900The flow of Chicago River is reversed.

1895Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen discovers X-rays.

1898Sir Almroth Edward Wright develops vaccines for typhoid.

1899Felix Hoffmann and Heinrich Dreser develop new method and preparation for aspirin.

1899Walter Reed initiates experiments that lead to the source for yellow fever.

1902Walter Sutton begins work to clarify the role of chromosomes per Mendel’s theories of heredity.

189090,000 Chicagoans die from cholera after major rain storm washes sewage into Lake Michigan. 1893

World’s Columbian Exhibition puts “White City” on the map.

1891Provident Hospital opens for the care of patients of all races. its founder is alumnus Daniel Hale Williams.

1894The Maurice Porter Memorial Hospital is chartered. In 1903 its name is changed to Children’s Memorial Hospital.

1901Nathan Smith Davis Jr., son of founder Nathan Smith Davis, becomes dean. He serves until 1907.

1902Karl Landsteiner identifies blood types.

1903

1919

1905

1921

1899

1915

1901

1917

1895

1911

1897

1913

1891

1907

1893

1909

1905Cook County Hospital becomes the largest hospital of its kind in the country, starting the first blood bank.

1908The Department of Health hires first nurses after success of using Visiting Nurse Association members to fight scarlet fever.

1907Arthur R. Edwards becomes dean, serving until 1916.

1910Paul Ehrlich’s work on immunology leads to the development of chemotherapy.

1913Northwestern faculty and alumni help form the American College of Surgeons.

1912Sterilization of water begins and reduces typhoid fever rate to lowest among major cities by 1917.

1914–18World War I grips the nation.

1918Great influenza outbreak sweeps nation and kills some 50 million people. 318 die in one day—October 17— in Chicago.

1911Two years of college now are required for admission.

1917Arthur i. Kendall becomes dean after serving as acting dean from 1916-17. He serves as dean until 1924.

1921

Frederick Grant Banting and Charles Herbert Best isolate insulin from the pancreas.

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1906Eduard Zirm successfully transplants a human cornea.

1915S.S. Eastland rolls over in Chicago River, killing more than 800 passengers and crew.

1898Frank S. Johnson, son of founder Hosmer A. Johnson, becomes dean. He serves until 1901.

HiSTORy of the MEDiCAL SCHOOL

1891The four professional schools—medical, law, pharmacy, and dental— affiliate with Northwestern.

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1923

1935

1953

1937

1931

1949

1933

1951

1927

1945

1929

1947

1923

1941

1939

1925

1943

1928Sir Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin.

1922Founders’ Day tradition starts.

1924James P. Simonds becomes acting dean.

1923Elizabeth J. Ward announces gift of $3,200,000 to the University for a memorial to her husband, Montgomery Ward.

1925irving S. Cutter becomes dean, serving until 1941.

1927Archibald Church Library is dedicated.

1931Ernst August, Friedrich Ruska, and Max Knoll build the first prototype of an electron microscope.

1933James P. Simonds again serves as acting dean.

1939World War II begins with invasion of Poland.

1941Japanese attack Pearl Harbor.

1950Richard H. Lawler performs the first human kidney transplant in Chicago.

1946Northwestern establishes first medical school partnership with U.S. Veterans Administration.

1949Richard H. young becomes dean, serving until 1970.

1951 Rehabilitation institute of Chicago receives its charter from the state of illinois.

1953James Watson and Francis Crick identify the structure of DNA.

1953Jonas Edward Salk develops a polio vaccine.

1933The Chicago World’s Fair, known as “A Century of Progress,” takes place.it celebrates the city’s centennial.

1927Babe Ruth hits record 60 home runs.

1929Stock market crashes, starting the Great Depression.

1941J. Roscoe Miller becomes dean, serving until 1949.

1944George H. Gardner becomes acting dean.

1924Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb face murder charges in Chicago.

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1953

1943Willem J. Kolff develops a kidney dialysis machine.

HiSTORy of MEDiCiNE

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1985

1955

1967

1985

1969

1963

1981

1965

1983

1959

1977

1961

1979

1955

1973

1971

1957

1975

1955Chicago is one of the first cities to use the new Salk vaccine.

1956Chicago introduces water fluoridation program.

1968Chicago hosts Democratic National Convention during a tumultuous time in the nation’s history.

1958Our Lady of the Angels School fire kills 92 children and 3 nuns.

1956Curriculum is revised; lecture hours are reduced; junior clerkships are instituted; and more electives are offered.

1975City Council revises municipal code to delineate duties of Board of Health and Department of Health.

1973Completion of Chicago’s Sears Tower makes it the tallest skyscraper in the world.

1967Christiaan Barnard performs first human heart transplant.

1968Robert A. Good performs first bone marrow transplant.

1960Rehabilitation institute of Chicago affiliates with Northwestern.

1965Searle Building is dedicated.

1974The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago relocates to Northwestern’s Chicago campus.

1970James E. Eckenhoff becomes dean, serving until 1983.

1968Women’s Hospital and Maternity Center receives charter. It becomes “Prentice” in 1973 and opens its doors as a Northwestern Memorial Hospital facility in 1975.

1983Researchers identify the retrovirus (HIV) responsible for AIDS.

1977First MRI scanner is tested by Raymond V. Damadian.

1977Lake Shore Center is purchased and opens for student housing.

1983Harry N. Beaty becomes dean, serving until 1997.

HiSTORy of CHiCAGO and the WORLD

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1983Chicago AIDS Task Force is established.

1978Louise Brown, the first test tube baby, is born on July 25.

1957Ian Donald starts using ultrasound for medical diagnosis.

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1987

2009

1999

2001

1995

1997

1991

2009

1993

1987

2005

2003

1989

2007

1990First NiH gene therapy trials begin.

1990Tarry Research and Education Building opens; Method Atrium construction is completed, uniting Searle, Morton, Ward, and Tarry buildings.

1995Children’s Memorial institute for Education and Research opens its doors.

1997Harvey R. Colten becomes dean, serving until 1999.

1999Most Northwestern Memorial Hospital facilities consolidate in new replacement hospital and ambulatory care pavilion.Lewis Landsberg becomes dean. He serves until 2007.

tHe FUtUre OF nOrtHwestern

2009Chicago vies for 2016 Olympic bid.

2005Surgeons in France perform first face transplant.

Building on 150 years of

excellence, the medical

school moves into the future

where alignment, innovation,

and impact will drive our

vision to remain leaders and

innovators in medicine and

the care of patients.

2002Northwestern University’s Board of Trustees renames the medical school in honor of benefactor Reuben Feinberg.

2005Robert H. Lurie Medical Research Center is dedicated on the former Passavant Pavilion site.

2009Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine celebrates 150 years of excellence!

2007J. Larry Jameson becomes dean.

1995July heat wave causes 514 to die in the Windy City.

1996Sir Ian Wilmut successfully clones a sheep named “Dolly.”

1994Michael Harrison perfects techniques for performing fetal surgery.

HiSTORy of CHiCAGO and the WORLD

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2000Human genome is sequenced.

HiSTORy of the MEDiCAL SCHOOL