c. 2000–1500 BCE
The oldest known medical texts are written in ancient Egypt
c. 600 BCE
The Indian physician
Sushruta writes the ancient
Sushruta Samhita
c. 460 BCE
The Greek father of medicine, Hippocrates, is born
805 CE
The first public hospital
is established in
Baghdad, Iraq
1347–1353
The Black Death
sweeps across Europe
1590
The microscope
is invented
1796
Edward Jenner develops the first successful
vaccine
1817
The first cholera
epidemic spreads
across Asia
1859
Louis Pasteur conducts his swan-necked flask experiment
1881
The nurse Clara Barton forms the American Red Cross
1928
Sir Alexander Fleming uncovers penicillin
1953
The structure of DNA is discovered
1972
Tu Youyou discovers a breakthrough drug to treat malaria
1994
Polio is considered eliminated in North and South America
2019
COVID-19 pandemic begins