Table 1.1.
Some Milestones in the History of Virology
| Date | Discoverer(s) | Discovery(ies) |
|---|---|---|
| 1796 | E. Jenner | Application of cowpox virus for vaccination against smallpox |
| 1885 | L. Pasteur | Development of rabies vaccine |
| 1892 | D. Ivanovsky, M. Beijerinck | Ultrafiltration of tobacco mosaic virus |
| 1898 | F. Loeffler, P. Frosch | Ultrafiltration of foot-and-mouth disease virus—clear proof of virus etiology of disease—discovery of the first virus |
| 1898 | G. Sanarelli | Discovery of myxoma virus |
| 1900 | W. Reed, J. Carroll, A. Agramonte, J. Lazear, C. Finlay | Discovery of yellow fever virus and its transmission by mosquitoes |
| 1903 | M. Remlinger, Riffat-Bay, A. di Vestea | Discovery of rabies virus |
| 1907 | P. Ashburn, C. Craig | Discovery of dengue viruses |
| 1909 | K. Landsteiner, E. Popper | Discovery of polioviruses |
| 1911 | P. Rousa | Discovery of the first tumor virus: Rous sarcoma virus |
| 1911 | J. Goldberger, J. Anderson | Discovery of measles virus |
| 1915 | F. Twort, F. d’Herelle | Discovery of bacterial viruses (bacteriophages) |
| 1918 | Beginning of global pandemic of influenza | |
| 1919 | A. Löwenstein | Discovery of herpes simplex virus |
| 1930 | K. Meyer, C. Haring, B. Howitt | Discovery of Western equine encephalitis virus |
| 1931 | M. Theilera | Attenuation of yellow fever virus—vaccine development |
| 1933 | C. Andrews, P. Laidlaw, W. Smith | Isolation of human influenza viruses in ferrets |
| 1933 | R. Muckenfuss, C. Armstrong, H. McCordock, L. Webster, G. Fite | Discovery of St. Louis encephalitis virus |
| 1934 | C. Johnson, E. Goodpasture | Discovery of mumps virus |
| 1934 | M. Hayashi, S. Kasahara, R. Kawamura, T. Taniguchi | Discovery of Japanese encephalitis virus |
| 1935 | W. Stanleya | Purification/crystallization of tobacco mosaic virus |
| 1936 | C. Armstrong, T. Rivers, E. Traub | Discovery of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus |
| 1937 | L. Zilber, M. Chumakov, N. Seitlenok, E. Levkovich | Discovery of tick-borne encephalitis virus (Russian spring summer encephalitis virus) |
| 1938 | B. von Borries, H. Ruska, E. Ruska | First electron micrograph of viruses (ectromelia, vaccinia viruses) |
| 1939 | E. Ellis, M. Delbrück | Development of one-step growth curve—bacteriophage |
| 1940 | K. Smithburn, T. Hughes, A. Burke, J. Paul | Discovery of West Nile virus |
| 1941 | G. Hirst | Discovery of agglutination of red blood cells by influenza virus |
| 1945 | M. Chumakov, G. Courtois, colleagues | Discovery of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus |
| 1948 | G. Dalldorf, G. Sickles | Discovery of Coxsackieviruses |
| 1949 | J. Endersa, T. Wellera, F. Robbinsa | Development of cell culture methodology for polio, measles, and other vaccines |
| 1950 | L. Florio, M. Miller, E. Mugrage | Discovery of Colorado tick fever virus |
| 1952 | R. Dulbecco, M. Vogt | Development of plaque assay for animal viruses—polioviruses, Western equine encephalitis virus |
| 1953 | W. Rowe | Discovery of human adenoviruses |
| 1954 | J. Salk, J. Youngner, T. Francis | Development of inactivated polio vaccine |
| 1958 | J. Lederberga | Discovery of genetic recombination and the organization of the genetic material of bacteria |
| 1959 | A. Sabin, H. Cox, H. Koprowski | Development of attenuated live-virus polio vaccine |
| 1962 | A. Lwoff, R. Horne, P. Tournier | Classification of the viruses based on virion characteristics |
| 1964 | M. Epstein, B. Achong, Y. Barr | Discovery of Epstein–Barr virus and its association with Burkitt’s lymphoma |
| 1965 | D. Tyrrell, M. Bynoe, J. Almeida | Discovery of human coronaviruses (B814 and 229E) |
| 1965 | F. Jacoba, A. Lwoffa, J. Monoda | Discoveries of genetic control of enzymes and virus synthesis: the operon |
| 1967 | B. Blumberga, H. Alter, A. Prince | Discovery of Australia antigen and its link to hepatitis B |
| 1969 | M. Delbrücka, A. Hersheya, S. Luriaa | Discoveries related to the replication mechanism and the genetic structure of viruses |
| 1970 | H. Temina, D. Baltimorea, R. Dulbeccoa | Discoveries related to the interaction between tumor viruses and the genetic material of the cell—reverse transcriptase |
| 1972 | A. Kapikian, colleagues | Discovery of Norwalk virus (norovirus) |
| 1973 | R. Bishop, G. Davidson, I. Holmes, T. Flewett, A. Kapikian | Discovery of human rotaviruses |
| 1973 | S. Feinstone, A. Kapikian, R. Purcell | Discovery of hepatitis A virus |
| 1975 | Y. Cossart, A. Field, A. Cant, D. Widdows | Discovery of parvovirus B-19 and its association with aplastic crisis in hemolytic anemia |
| 1975 | P. Sharpa, L. Chow, R. Robertsa, T. Broker | Discovery of RNA splicing and split genes (adenovirus) |
| 1976 | D. C. Gajduseka | Discovery of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies |
| 1976 | K. Johnson, P. Webb, J. Lange, F. Murphy, S. Pattyn, W. Jacob, G. Van der Groen, P. Piot, E. Bowen, G Platt, G. Lloyd, A. Baskerville, D. Simpson | Discovery of Ebola virus |
| 1976 | J. Bishopa, H. Varmusa | Discovery of the cellular origin of retroviral oncogenes |
| 1977 | D. Henderson, F. Fenner, I. Arita, many others | Global eradication of smallpox |
| 1978 | D. Nathansa, W. Arbera, H. Smitha | Discovery of restriction enzymes and their application to problems of molecular genetics |
| 1978 | S. Harrison, M. Rossman, N. Olson, R. Kuhn, T. Baker, J. Hogle, M. Chow, R. Rueckert, J. Johnson | Atomic structure of viruses (tomato bushy stunt virus, polioviruses, rhinoviruses) |
| 1980 | P. Berga | The development of recombinant-DNA technology |
| 1980 | R. Gallo, B. Poiesz, M. Yoshida, I. Miyoshi, Y. Hinuma | Discovery of human T lymphotropic viruses 1 and 2 |
| 1981 | V. Racaniello, D. Baltimore | Development of an infectious recombinant clone of a virus (poliovirus) |
| 1982 | S. Prusinera | Concept of the prion and their etiologic role in spongiform encephalopathies |
| 1982 | A. Kluga | Crystallographic electron microscopy and structural elucidation of biologically important nucleic acid–protein complexes |
| 1983 | F. Barré-Sinoussia, L. Montagniera, J. Chermann | Discovery of human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV1) |
| 1983 | M. Balayan | Discovery of hepatitis E virus and its transmission |
| 1985 | F. Barin, F. Clavel, M. Essex, P. Kanki, F. Brun-Vézinet | Discovery of human immunodeficiency virus 2 (HIV2) |
| 1988 | G. Hitchingsa, G. Eliona | Discoveries of important principles for drug treatment—acyclovir |
| 1989 | M. Houghton, Q.-L. Choo, G. Kuo, D. Bradley, H. Alter | Discovery of hepatitis C virus |
| 1993 | S. Nichol, C. Peters, P. Rollin, T. Ksiazek | Discovery of Sin Nombre virus and its association with hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome |
| 1994 | Y. Chang, P. Moore | Discovery of human herpesvirus 8—Kaposi sarcoma herpesvirus |
| 1995 | K. Murray, P. Hooper, A. Hyatt | Discovery of Hendra virus and its reservoir host fruit bats |
| 1996 | P. Dohertya, R. Zinkernagela | Discovery of the genetic specificity of the cell-mediated immune response |
| 1996 | R. Will, J. Ironside, J. Collinge, colleagues | Discovery that bovine spongiform encephalopathy prion is the cause of variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease in humans |
| 1999 | K. Chua, S. Lam, W. Bellini, T. Ksiazek, B. Eaton, colleagues | Discovery of Nipah virus |
| 1999 | D. Asnis, M. Layton, W.I. Lipkin, R. Lanciotti | Extension of West Nile virus range to North America |
| 2001 | B. van den Hoogen, A. Osterhaus, colleagues | Discovery of human metapneumovirus |
| 2003 | C. Urbani, J. Peiris, S. Lai, L. Poon, G. Drosten, K. Stöhr, A. Osterhaus, T. Ksiazek, D. Erdman, C. Goldsmith, S. Zaki, J. DeRisi, others | Discovery of SARS coronavirus |
| 2003 | B. La Scola, D. Raoult, others | Discovery of mimivirus, the largest virus known at the time |
| 2005 | J. Taubenberger, P. Palese, T. Tumpey, A. Garcia-Sastre, others | 1918 influenza virus genome sequenced and the virus reconstructed |
| 2005 | Beginning of global pandemic of chikungunya | |
| 2005 | E. Leroy, J. Towner, R. Swanepoel, others | Discovery that the reservoir hosts of Ebola/Marburg viruses are bats |
| 2007 | T. Allander, D. Wang, Y. Chang, others | Discovery of human polyomaviruses KI, WU, MC |
| 2008 | H. zur Hausena | Discovery that human papilloma viruses cause cervical cancer |
| 2008 | B. La Scola, D. Raoult, others | Discovery of virophage, Sputnik |
| 2010 | W. Plowright and the FAO Global Rinderpest Eradication Programme | Global eradication of rinderpest |
| 2011 | B. Hoffmann, M. Beer, T. Mettenleiter, colleagues | Discovery of Schmallenberg virus |
| 2012 | A.M. Zaki, R. Fouchier, W.I. Lipkin | Discovery of MERS coronavirus |
| 2014 | Beginning of an Ebola hemorrhagic fever epidemic in West Africa, the largest ever | |
| 2015 | Beginning of a global epidemic of Zika virus disease—discovery of microcephaly as consequence of in utero infection |
a
Scientists who were awarded the Nobel Prize for their work—cited at date of the discovery rather than the date of award.