October 1, 1993
Oncologist and clinical researcher Mildred Vera Peters dies. She showed that a lumpectomy and radiation was as effective as a mastectomy in treating breast cancer
October 2, 1893
Katō Sechi organic chemistry is born. She worked at the RIKEN Physical and Chemical Research Institute in Tokyo, becoming a pioneer in analysis with spectroscopy
October 3, 1951
Geologist and space and marine explorer Kathryn Dwyer Sullivan is born. She was the first astronaut to perform an extravehicular activity and demonstrated that the Challenger could refuel in orbit
October 4, 1951
Henrietta Lacks dies. Without her consent, cells from her uterine cancer were collected, giving rise to the first immortal cell culture line called HeLa
October 5, 1871
Agricultural specialist Elizabeth Coleman White is born. She collaborated with botanist Frederick Vernon Coville to develop and market a cultivated blueberry
October 6, 2022
International Geodiversity Day is celebrated for the first time. Its goal is to promote a better understanding of the Earth’s dynamic processes
October 7, 1919
Programmer and analyst Henriette Avram is born. She developed the MARC 21 format to catalog documents in an automated manner, which will be applied in the international library community
October 8, 1872
Geologist and paleontologist Gertrude Lilian Elles is born. Together with Ethel Wood, she wrote Monograph of British Graptolites, which was for many years a reference work in paleontology
October 9, 1901
Chemical engineer Germaine Benoit is born. She is especially known for her contribution to the study of sympathomimetic substances
October 10, 1967
The Outer Space Treaty comes into force. It represents the basic legal framework of international space law and has been ratified by more than 100 countries
October 11, 1854
Geologist and paleontologist Henriette Delamarre de Monchaux is born. She was a specialist in faluns, of great geological interest and useful as agricultural fertilizer for acid clay soils
October 12, 1964
The USSR puts Vosjod 1 into Earth orbit, the first spacecraft with a crew of several people and the first flight without space suits
October 13, 2016
Scientist Maria Isabel Andrade receives the World Food Prize. Her work on biofortified sweet potato varieties contributes to improving food security in Africa
October 14, 1928
Physicist and mathematician Mary Tsingou is born. She was one of the first programmers of the MANIAC computer
October 15, 1859
The doctor Augusta Déjerine-Klumpke is born. She described a paralysis of the lower roots of the brachial plexus, after the descriptions of high lesions of the Duchenne and Erb plexus
October 16, 1920
Archaeologist and anthropologist Alicia Dussán de Reichel is born. She was a pioneer in the development of social and human sciences in Colombia, as well as in gender studies in the Caribbean region
October 17, 1771
The Royal Cabinet of Natural History, currently the National Museum of Natural Sciences, opens to the public. This collection was the first to which everyone had access, regardless of their social status
October 18, 2019
Biologists Sandra Myrna Díaz and Joanne Chory receive the Princess of Asturias award for their contribution to the knowledge of plant biology
October 19, 1835
Inventor Amanda T. Jones is born. She worked on technology applied to food preservation and is known for devising a new vacuum food packaging system, the Jones method
October 20, 1891
Physicist and Nobel Prize winner James Chadwick is born. He is known worldwide for the discovery of the neutron, a subatomic particle with no net charge
October 21, 1906
Nutritionist Elsie Widdowson is born. She researched malnutrition and, with Robert McCance, oversaw the addition of vitamins to food and rationing in the United Kingdom during World War II
October 22, 1905
Radio engineer Karl Guthe Jansky is born. He showed that the radiation received with a wavelength of 14.6 meters did not come from the Sun, but from the constellation Sagittarius
October 23, 1920
Meteorologist Tetsuya Fujita is born. His research revolutionized our understanding of thunderstorms, tornadoes, hurricanes, and severe typhoons
October 24, 1836
Chemist János Irinyi patents silent, non-explosive matches. His invention was based on mixing phosphorus with lead dioxide in the heads of matches
October 25, 1971
Industrial engineer Elena García Armada is born. She created the first bionic children’s exoskeleton, which allows paralyzed boys and girls to walk again
October 27, 1904
Filmmaker and inventor José Val del Omar is born. He incorporated different technical innovations to films such as Tríptico elemental de España
October 28, 1897
Physician Marjory Warren is born. She is considered the mother of modern geriatric medicine
October 29, 1791
Botanist Anne Kingsbury Wollstonecraft is born. She studied the flora of Cuba and, in the mid-1820s, created an illustrated manuscript, Specimens of Plants and Fruits of the Island of Cuba