1. The doctor who kept notes while dying from a cocaine overdose.
In what may be the greatest demonstration of altruism in medical history, Edwin Katskee literally gave his life to test the effects of cocaine to its addicts. The main difference of Dr. Katskee with any other scientist included in this list is that he knew his death was inevitable when he was injecting a deadly dose of cocaine into his veins. He didn’t seek help, but instead he tried to calmly record his observations as the drug took effect. He described what he had done as a “scientific experiment with death.” It’s important to note, however, that by the year of his death (1936), Dr. Katskee’s life began to fall apart.
In August of that year, his wife filed for divorce citing “extreme cruelty” and asked for custody of their two young children. Not long afterward, Dr. Katskee experienced a series of health crises, including gall bladder surgery and spending time in a sanitarium. Two months later, his uncle committed suicide following a nervous breakdown. Suicide or not, the fact remains that Dr. Katskee sacrificed his life in order to find out what the addicts experience themselves during an overdose. Unfortunately, his notes as scattered as they were and without proper timekeeping, did not prove useful for his colleagues.
Where do we find this stuff? Here are our sources:
Doctor Katskee’s Final Experiment – Providentia.
The Man Behind High-Speed Safety Standards – Air and Space.
Constantin Levaditi: An unknown pioneer in immunology research. Mednet.
1804: Med student tests theory by drinking black vomit – Alpha History.
“Paris choosing a dermatological hero for the millennium” by Daniel Wallach.
The isolation of morphine by Serturner – NCBI – NIH
Barry James Marshall—Discovery of Helicobacter pylori as a Cause of Peptic Ulcer. Mayo Clinic.
“Roger Altounyan: the man and his work.” Respir Med.
Lidocaine: The Origin of a Modern Local Anesthetic | Anesthesiology.org
The Olivier Ameisen Story – Baclofen Treatment for Alcoholism
“ABO blood group system”. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica.