On 20 August 1897, working in Secunderabad in India, the British army doctor Ronald Ross dissected the stomach of an Anopheles mosquito that had fed on a malaria patient and found the oocysts of the malaria parasite, solving the mystery of how the disease spreads. Patrick Manson had suggested the idea, and Ross showed in 1898 that the bird malaria parasite is transmitted the same way. Giovanni Grassi in Italy demonstrated the cycle in human malaria. Ross received the 1902 Nobel Prize. His discovery led to campaigns of mosquito control, including draining swamps, which helped to build the Panama Canal. Malaria still kills over 600,000 people every year.
Before and after
- 12 June 1897Birth of Anthony Eden
- 18 June 1897Founding of Kyoto University
- 24 July 1897Birth of Amelia Earhart
- from 16 August 1897 to 5 November 1899Belgian Antarctic Expedition
- 20 August 1897Ronald Ross shows that mosquitoes transmit malaria
- 12 September 1897Birth of Irène Joliot-Curie
- 25 September 1897Birth of William Faulkner
- 26 September 1897Birth of Paul VI
- from 12 October 1897 to 29 August 1910Korean Empire
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The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 19th century.