Table 1.
Select milestones in the history of hematology before Blood started publication in 1946
| Year | Discovery |
|---|---|
| 1628 | Discovery of the closed circulation of blood by Harvey |
| 1674 | Description of RBCs by van Leeuwenhoek |
| 1770-4 | Discovery of WBCs, fibrinogen, the first anticoagulant (Glauber’s salt), and the fundamentals of blood coagulation and lymphatic circulation by Hewson |
| 1818 | First successful transfusion of human blood to a patient by Blundell |
| 1832 | First description of Hodgkin disease by Hodgkin |
| 1840 | First successful whole blood transfusion to treat hemophilia by Lane |
| 1852-76 | Development of RBC and WBC counting by hemocytometer by multiple investigators |
| 1868 | Discovery of the role of the bone marrow in hematopoiesis by Neumann and independently by Bizzozero |
| 1868 | Virchow describes leukemia, thrombosis, and embolism |
| 1878 | Blood cell staining developed by Ehrlich, followed by his identification of 3 types of granulocytes, mast cells, polychromatophilia, and megaloblasts |
| 1882 | First description of phagocytosis by Metchnikoff |
| 1888 | First description of the role of platelets in hemostasis and thrombosis by Bizzozero |
| 1901 | Discovery of blood groups, A, B, AB, and O (C) by Landsteiner |
| 1903 | First description of syndrome of polycythemia vera by Osler |
| 1904 | First description of paroxysmal cold hemoglobinuria by Donath and Landsteiner |
| 1910 | First description of bleeding time assay and effectiveness of platelet transfusion to treat thrombocytopenia by Duke |
| 1910 | First description of sickle cell disease by Herrick |
| 1915 | Use of citrate to anticoagulant blood for transfusion optimized by Lewisohn |
| 1918 | First description of Glanzmann thrombasthenia by Glanzmann |
| 1920 | Classic description of infectious mononucleosis by Sprunt and Evans |
| 1924 | First description of Felty syndrome (association of chronic arthritis, splenomegaly, and leukopenia) by Felty |
| 1925 | First description of thalassemia by Cooley and Lee |
| 1926 | First description of von Willebrand disease by von Willebrand |
| 1926 | Classic report of liver as first effective treatment of pernicious anemia by Minot and Murphy |
| 1927 | First description of Fanconi syndrome (pancytopenia, aplastic bone marrow, and physical anomalies) by Fanconi |
| 1929 | Hematocrit technique refined by Wintrobe, along with introduction of RBC indices MCV, MCH, and MCHC |
| 1929 | First description of sternal puncture to obtain bone marrow by Arinkin |
| 1929 | Identification of role of intrinsic factor in pernicious anemia by Castle |
| 1934 | Classification of anemias based on RBC indices by Wintrobe |
| 1935 | Development of the PT by Quick |
| 1937 | Identification of a globulin fraction of plasma as containing the antihemophiliac factor (later factor VIII) by Patek and Taylor |
| 1941 | First description of the effect of warfarin on the PT in humans by Butt, Allen, and Bollman |
| 1944 | First description of macroglobulinemia by Waldenström |
| 1945 | The antihuman globulin test to identify “incomplete” antibodies developed by Coombs, Mourant, and Race |
| 1946 | Multiple reports of efficacy of nitrogen mustard compounds in lymphoma and leukemia by groups led by Goodman, Gilman, Jacobson, and Rhoads |
MCH, mean corpuscular hemoglobin; MCHC, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration; MCV, mean corpuscular volume; PT, prothrombin time.