Stuff You Missed in History Class

Latest Episodes:

Elizabeth Fry Sep 30, 2026

Show notes

Elizabeth Fry is lauded as an early 19th century prison reformer. But she had no formal background or training in prison or social work.

Research:

BREED, ANNA. “ELIZABETH FRY.” Advocate of Peace (1847-1884), vol. 13, no. 3, 1882, pp. 21–22. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/27906270
Britannica Editors. "Elizabeth Fry". Encyclopedia Britannica, 17 May. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Elizabeth-Fry
Britannica Editors. "Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, 1st Baronet". Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 Mar. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sir-Thomas-Fowell-Buxton-1st-Baronet
Buxton, Thomas Fowell. “An inquiry, whether crime and misery are produced or prevented, by our present system of prison discipline.” London. J. and A. Arch. 1818. https://archive.org/details/b33283333/page/14/mode/2up
Cooper, Robert Alan. “THE ENGLISH QUAKERS AND PRISON REFORM 1809-23.” Quaker History, vol. 68, no. 1, 1979, pp. 3–19. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41946871
Cooper, Robert Alan. “Jeremy Bentham, Elizabeth Fry, and English Prison Reform.” Journal of the History of Ideas, vol. 42, no. 4, 1981, pp. 675–90. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/2709127
Corder, Susanna. “Life of Elizabeth Fry.” Philadelphia. H. Lonstreth. 1853. https://archive.org/details/lifeofelizabethf00cordiala/page/n9/mode/2up
Craig, Russell L. “Correctional Education Historical Vignette: WOMEN IN CORRECTIONS: Elizabeth Gurney Fry.” Journal of Correctional Education, vol. 57, no. 2, 2006, pp. 141–44. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/23282705
Crawford, William, and Whitworth Russell. “Extracts from the second report of William Crawford and Whitworth Russell, Esqs., the Inspectors of Prisons for the Home District ; addressed to the Right Honourable the Secretary of State for the Home Department.” National Library of medicine. Philadelphia : Republished by the Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons, 1838. https://collections.nlm.nih.gov/catalog/nlm:nlmuid-101596454-bk
Foxhall K. From convicts to colonists: the health of prisoners and the voyage to Australia, 1823-53. J Imp Commonw Hist. 2011;39(1):1-19. doi: 10.1080/03086534.2011.543793
Griffiths, Arthur. “The Chronicles of Newgate.” LONDON: CHAPMAN AND HALL
(Limited). 1884. Accessed online: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/46746/46746-h/46746-h.htm
Kent, John. “Elizabeth Fry.” London. B. Batsford. 1962.
Rose, June. “Elizabeth Fry.” New York. St. Martin’s Press, 1981.

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Two Beer Riots Sep 28, 2026

Show notes

The Munich Beer Riot of 1844 was a reaction to the price of beer set by the Bavarian government. The Lager Beer Riot took place in Chicago in 1855, and was a response to municipal policies put in place by mayor Levi Boone that targeted the city’s Catholic and immigrant populations.

Research:

Alberts, Brian. “‘Streets as Stages’ — The Munich Beer Riots of 1844.” Good Beer Hunting. https://www.goodbeerhunting.com/blog/2020/7/13/streets-as-stages-the-munich-beer-riots-of-1844
"Bavaria." Britannica Library, Encyclopædia Britannica, 16 Mar. 2026. libraries.state.ma.us/login?eburl=https%3A%2F%2Flibrary.eb.com&ebtarget=%2Flevels%2Freferencecenter%2Farticle%2FBavaria%2F13830&ebboatid=9265928. Accessed 3 Sep. 2026. Britannica Editors. "Oktoberfest". Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 Apr. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Oktoberfest. Accessed 2 September 2026.
Carpenter, Kim Newak. “‘Sechs Kreuzer sind genug fuer ein Bier!’: The Munich beer riot of 1844: Social protest and public disorder in mid-19th century Bavaria.” A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Georgetown University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History. 1998.
Durica, Paul. “‘A Montstrous Doctrine’ - Chicago’s Lager Beer Riot.” Mash Tun. https://mashtunjournal.org/texts/lagerriot
Einhorn, Robin. “Lager Beer Riot.” Encyclopedia of Chicago. http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/703.html
Engels, Frederick. “Beer Riots in Bavaria.” The Northern Star, No. 341, May 25, 1844, p. 6.
Grossman, Ron. “Chicago’s Lager Beer Riot proved immigrants’ power.” Chicago Tribune. 9/25/2015. https://www.chicagotribune.com/2015/09/25/chicagos-lager-beer-riot-proved-immigrants-power/
"Ludwig I, King of Bavaria." Encyclopedia of World Biography Online, vol. 34, Gale, 2014. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1631010137/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=df1b49ec. Accessed 2 Sept. 2026
Magelssen, Scott. “The 1855 Lager Beer Riot Dodgeball Reenactment and Beer Tasting.” Theatre Journal, DECEMBER 2015, Vol. 67, No. 4, Possible Worlds (DECEMBER2015). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24582647
New York Herald, European Edition. “1889: Beer Crisis in Bavaria.” 9/19/1889. Reprinted In the New York Times 9/18/2014. https://archive.nytimes.com/iht-retrospective.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/09/18/1889-beer-crisis-in-bavaria/
Renner, Richard Wilson. “In Perfect Ferment: Chicago, the Know-Nothings, and the Riot for Lager.” Chicago History V, no. 3 (1976): 161-170.
WBEZ Chicago. Morning Shift. “Fest looks at the history of the Lager Beer Riot.” 4/24/2015. https://www.wbez.org/morning-shift/2015/04/24/fest-looks-at-the-history-of-the-lager-beer-riot.
Weiss, Jana. “A Lager Beer Revolution: The History of Beer and German American Immigration.” Life & Letters. University of Texas at Austin. Originally published in Not Even Past. 9/19/2023. https://lifeandletters.la.utexas.edu/2023/09/a-lager-beer-revolution-the-history-of-beer-and-german-american-immigration/

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SYMHC Classics: Nuclear Close Calls Sep 26, 2026

Show notes

This episode from 2017 covers several moments in history when the world came perilously close to a full-scale nuclear war, due to false alarms or miscommunication.

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Behind the Scenes Minis: Busses and Overpasses Sep 25, 2026

Show notes

Holly and Tracy unpack the accusation that Robert Moses purposely built overpass bridges too low for busses to drive under them as a way to keep Black New Yorkers away from Jones Beach.

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Robert Moses and the Shaping of New York, Part 2 Sep 23, 2026

Show notes

The second part of our two-parter on Robert Moses looks at the vast amount of power he amassed in New York’s government, and the many controversies that surrounded the second half of his career.

Research:

“15% OF THE FAIR STILL UNFINISHED; 15 Pavilions and 3 Shows in Amusement Area Delayed.” New York Times. April 22, 1964. https://www.nytimes.com/1964/04/22/archives/15-of-the-fair-still-unfinished-15-pavilions-and-3-shows-in.html
Ballon, Hilary, Phd. and Kenneth T. Jackson, eds. “Robert Moses and the Modern City: The Transformation of New York.” W.W. Norton & Co. 2008.
Balme, Bob. “His Pen Blisters, His Voice Stings – Robert Moses, at 71, Churns Ahead.” Buffalo News. December 5, 1959. https://www.newspapers.com/image/868298578/?match=4&terms=Robert%20Moses&search-id=e5e8b520-6c56-44d0-96ef-7303b5705343&search-rank=6
Brewer, Sam Pope. “MOSES SLUM ROLE STIRRED DISPUTE; His 'Dead Duck' Remark on Title I Projects Aroused Urban Renewal Backers.” New York Times. Feb. 28, 1960. https://www.nytimes.com/1960/02/28/archives/moses-slum-role-stirred-dispute-his-dead-duck-remark-on-title-i.html
Britannica Editors. "Robert Moses". Encyclopedia Britannica, 25 Jul. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Robert-Moses
Caro, Robert A. “The Power Broker.” Knopf. 1974.
Caro, Robert A. “The Power Broker – I: How Robert Moses Transformed New York.” The New Yorker. July 15, 1974. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1974/07/22/the-power-broker-i-the-best-bill-drafter-in-albany?_sp=012e2621-7c64-4868-8288-8d1d8c093dfc.1788137489337
Chronopoulos, T. (2014). “Robert Moses and the Visual Dimension of Physical Disorder: Efforts to Demonstrate Urban Blight in the Age of Slum Clearance.” Journal of Planning History, 13(3), 207-233. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1538513213487149
Crawford, F. C. “New York State Reorganization.” The American Political Science Review, vol. 20, no. 1, 1926, pp. 76–79. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/1945100
Ellis, Robert P. “Robert Moses.” Ebsco. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/robert-moses#lifes-work
“EX-COSTELLO AIDE BARRED BY MAYOR ON SLUM PROJECTS.” The New York Times. July 3, 1959. https://www.nytimes.com/1959/07/03/archives/excostello-aide-barred-by-mayor-on-slum-projects-pokrass.html
“GOVERNOR BY MERIT.” New York Times. Nov. 7, 1934. https://www.nytimes.com/1934/11/07/archives/governor-by-merit.html
Grutzner, Charles. “MOSES SAYS TITLE I IS A 'DEAD DUCK'; DECRIES CHARGES; 'Ruinous' Attacks Kill All but Union Slum-Clearing Jobs for Future, He Asserts MAYOR STANDING FIRM He Repeats His Opposition to Any Project That Uses Kessler as Architect.” New York Times. July 4, 1959. https://www.nytimes.com/1959/07/04/archives/moses-says-title-i-is-a-dead-duck-decries-charges-ruinous-attacks.html
Gutman, Marta. “Race, Place, and Play: Robert Moses and the WPA Swimming Pools in New York City.” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, vol. 67, no. 4, 2008, pp. 532–61. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.1525/jsah.2008.67.4.532
“History of City–Owned Beaches.” Official Website of the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. https://www.nycgovparks.org/about/history/beaches/city-owned-beaches
“History of Parks' Swimming Pools.” Official Website of the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. https://www.nycgovparks.org/about/history/pools
“Jones Beach State Park - 80 Years of Service : 1929 – 2009.” https://jonesbeach.com/index.php?id=165%3A80-years&format=pdf&option=com_content&Itemid=100054
JONES BEACH STATE PARK.” Long Island Exchange. https://web.archive.org/web/20130121130008/http://www.longislandexchange.com/jones-beach.html
Kaufman, Herbert. “Robert Moses: Charismatic Bureaucrat.” Political Science Quarterly, vol. 90, no. 3, 1975, pp. 521–38. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/2148299
Kaufman, Michael T. “Moses Rips Into ‘Venomous’ Biography.” New York Times. Aug. 27, 1974. https://www.nytimes.com/1974/08/27/archives/moses-rips-into-venomous-biography-vindictive-canards-rejects.html
Lambert, Bruce. “One Man's Dream, Blissful Jones Beach Is Like No Other Place.” New York Times. Sept. 28, 1997. https://www.nytimes.com/1997/09/28/nyregion/one-man-s-dream-blissful-jones-beach-is-like-no-other-place.html
“Moses Must Go!” Met Council on Housing. May 14, 2012. https://www.metcouncilonhousing.org/moses-must-go/
Moses, Robert. “Public Works: A Dangerous Trade.” New York. McGraw-Hill. 1970. https://archive.org/details/publicworksdange00mose/page/n7/mode/2up
Moses, Robert. “Slums and City Planning.” The Atlantic. January 1945. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1945/01/slums-and-city-planning/306544/
Paquette, Carol. “Showcasing the Career of Robert Moses.” New York Times. Oct. 1, 1995. https://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/01/nyregion/showcasing-the-career-of-robert-moses.html
Phillips, Wayne. “Title I and Slum Clearance: A Decade of Controversy; Partnership of City and U. S. Has Built 8,000 Apartments -- Disputes Involve Moses and Aims of Program.” New York Times. June 29, 1959. https://www.nytimes.com/1959/06/29/archives/title-i-and-slum-clearance-a-decade-of-controversy-partnership-of.html
“POKRASS BAN IS ASKED; Senator Bids Housing Aides Act on Costello Associate.” New York Times. July 9, 1959. https://www.nytimes.com/1959/07/09/archives/pokrass-ban-is-asked-senator-bids-housing-aides-act-on-costello.html
Rogers, Elizabeth Barlow. “Robert Caro and Robert Moses Redux.” SiteLINES: A Journal of Place. Vol. 3, No. 1 (Fall 2007), pp. 16-18. Foundation for Landscape Studies. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/24889293
Smith, Red. “Robert Moses, the Empire Builder.” New York Times. Aug. 5, 1981. https://www.nytimes.com/1981/08/05/sports/red-smith-robert-moses-the-empire-builder.html
Sokolsky, George. “Robert Moses Is a Selfless Man.” Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph. June 18, 1959. https://www.newspapers.com/image/524545077/?match=1&terms=Robert%20Moses&search-id=e5e8b520-6c56-44d0-96ef-7303b5705343&search-rank=2
“Texts of Statements by Moses and Rockefeller; Statement by Mr. Moses Letter to the Governor Letter to Mr. Moses Statement by Governor 'New Phase' of Park Work Letters Exchanged.” New York Times. Dec. 1, 1962. https://www.nytimes.com/1962/12/01/archives/texts-of-statements-by-moses-and-rockefeller-statement-by-mr-moses.html
“Title I, Very Much Alive.” New York Times. July 8, 1959. https://www.nytimes.com/1959/07/08/archives/title-i-very-much-alive.html
Wallock, L. (1991). The Myth of the Master Builder: Robert Moses, New York, and the Dynamics of Metropolitan Development Since World War II: Robert Moses, New York, and the Dynamics of Metropolitan Development Since World War II. Journal of Urban History, 17(4), 339-362. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/009614429101700401

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Robert Moses and the Shaping of New York, Part 1 Sep 21, 2026

Show notes

Robert Moses is responsible for so much of the infrastructure of New York, including parks, bridges, highways and more. And he remains a divisive figure. The first part of this two-parter covers his rise in New York government.

Research:

“15% OF THE FAIR STILL UNFINISHED; 15 Pavilions and 3 Shows in Amusement Area Delayed.” New York Times. April 22, 1964. https://www.nytimes.com/1964/04/22/archives/15-of-the-fair-still-unfinished-15-pavilions-and-3-shows-in.html
Ballon, Hilary, Phd. and Kenneth T. Jackson, eds. “Robert Moses and the Modern City: The Transformation of New York.” W.W. Norton & Co. 2008.
Balme, Bob. “His Pen Blisters, His Voice Stings – Robert Moses, at 71, Churns Ahead.” Buffalo News. December 5, 1959. https://www.newspapers.com/image/868298578/?match=4&terms=Robert%20Moses&search-id=e5e8b520-6c56-44d0-96ef-7303b5705343&search-rank=6
Brewer, Sam Pope. “MOSES SLUM ROLE STIRRED DISPUTE; His 'Dead Duck' Remark on Title I Projects Aroused Urban Renewal Backers.” New York Times. Feb. 28, 1960. https://www.nytimes.com/1960/02/28/archives/moses-slum-role-stirred-dispute-his-dead-duck-remark-on-title-i.html
Britannica Editors. "Robert Moses". Encyclopedia Britannica, 25 Jul. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Robert-Moses
Caro, Robert A. “The Power Broker.” Knopf. 1974.
Caro, Robert A. “The Power Broker – I: How Robert Moses Transformed New York.” The New Yorker. July 15, 1974. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1974/07/22/the-power-broker-i-the-best-bill-drafter-in-albany?_sp=012e2621-7c64-4868-8288-8d1d8c093dfc.1788137489337
Chronopoulos, T. (2014). “Robert Moses and the Visual Dimension of Physical Disorder: Efforts to Demonstrate Urban Blight in the Age of Slum Clearance.” Journal of Planning History, 13(3), 207-233. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1538513213487149
Crawford, F. C. “New York State Reorganization.” The American Political Science Review, vol. 20, no. 1, 1926, pp. 76–79. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/1945100
Ellis, Robert P. “Robert Moses.” Ebsco. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/robert-moses#lifes-work
“EX-COSTELLO AIDE BARRED BY MAYOR ON SLUM PROJECTS.” The New York Times. July 3, 1959. https://www.nytimes.com/1959/07/03/archives/excostello-aide-barred-by-mayor-on-slum-projects-pokrass.html
“GOVERNOR BY MERIT.” New York Times. Nov. 7, 1934. https://www.nytimes.com/1934/11/07/archives/governor-by-merit.html
Grutzner, Charles. “MOSES SAYS TITLE I IS A 'DEAD DUCK'; DECRIES CHARGES; 'Ruinous' Attacks Kill All but Union Slum-Clearing Jobs for Future, He Asserts MAYOR STANDING FIRM He Repeats His Opposition to Any Project That Uses Kessler as Architect.” New York Times. July 4, 1959. https://www.nytimes.com/1959/07/04/archives/moses-says-title-i-is-a-dead-duck-decries-charges-ruinous-attacks.html
Gutman, Marta. “Race, Place, and Play: Robert Moses and the WPA Swimming Pools in New York City.” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, vol. 67, no. 4, 2008, pp. 532–61. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.1525/jsah.2008.67.4.532
“History of City–Owned Beaches.” Official Website of the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. https://www.nycgovparks.org/about/history/beaches/city-owned-beaches
“History of Parks' Swimming Pools.” Official Website of the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. https://www.nycgovparks.org/about/history/pools
“Jones Beach State Park - 80 Years of Service : 1929 – 2009.” https://jonesbeach.com/index.php?id=165%3A80-years&format=pdf&option=com_content&Itemid=100054
JONES BEACH STATE PARK.” Long Island Exchange. https://web.archive.org/web/20130121130008/http://www.longislandexchange.com/jones-beach.html
Kaufman, Herbert. “Robert Moses: Charismatic Bureaucrat.” Political Science Quarterly, vol. 90, no. 3, 1975, pp. 521–38. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/2148299
Kaufman, Michael T. “Moses Rips Into ‘Venomous’ Biography.” New York Times. Aug. 27, 1974. https://www.nytimes.com/1974/08/27/archives/moses-rips-into-venomous-biography-vindictive-canards-rejects.html
Lambert, Bruce. “One Man's Dream, Blissful Jones Beach Is Like No Other Place.” New York Times. Sept. 28, 1997. https://www.nytimes.com/1997/09/28/nyregion/one-man-s-dream-blissful-jones-beach-is-like-no-other-place.html
“Moses Must Go!” Met Council on Housing. May 14, 2012. https://www.metcouncilonhousing.org/moses-must-go/
Moses, Robert. “Public Works: A Dangerous Trade.” New York. McGraw-Hill. 1970. https://archive.org/details/publicworksdange00mose/page/n7/mode/2up
Moses, Robert. “Slums and City Planning.” The Atlantic. January 1945. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1945/01/slums-and-city-planning/306544/
Paquette, Carol. “Showcasing the Career of Robert Moses.” New York Times. Oct. 1, 1995. https://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/01/nyregion/showcasing-the-career-of-robert-moses.html
Phillips, Wayne. “Title I and Slum Clearance: A Decade of Controversy; Partnership of City and U. S. Has Built 8,000 Apartments -- Disputes Involve Moses and Aims of Program.” New York Times. June 29, 1959. https://www.nytimes.com/1959/06/29/archives/title-i-and-slum-clearance-a-decade-of-controversy-partnership-of.html
“POKRASS BAN IS ASKED; Senator Bids Housing Aides Act on Costello Associate.” New York Times. July 9, 1959. https://www.nytimes.com/1959/07/09/archives/pokrass-ban-is-asked-senator-bids-housing-aides-act-on-costello.html
Rogers, Elizabeth Barlow. “Robert Caro and Robert Moses Redux.” SiteLINES: A Journal of Place. Vol. 3, No. 1 (Fall 2007), pp. 16-18. Foundation for Landscape Studies. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/24889293
Smith, Red. “Robert Moses, the Empire Builder.” New York Times. Aug. 5, 1981. https://www.nytimes.com/1981/08/05/sports/red-smith-robert-moses-the-empire-builder.html
Sokolsky, George. “Robert Moses Is a Selfless Man.” Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph. June 18, 1959. https://www.newspapers.com/image/524545077/?match=1&terms=Robert%20Moses&search-id=e5e8b520-6c56-44d0-96ef-7303b5705343&search-rank=2
“Texts of Statements by Moses and Rockefeller; Statement by Mr. Moses Letter to the Governor Letter to Mr. Moses Statement by Governor 'New Phase' of Park Work Letters Exchanged.” New York Times. Dec. 1, 1962. https://www.nytimes.com/1962/12/01/archives/texts-of-statements-by-moses-and-rockefeller-statement-by-mr-moses.html
“Title I, Very Much Alive.” New York Times. July 8, 1959. https://www.nytimes.com/1959/07/08/archives/title-i-very-much-alive.html
Wallock, L. (1991). The Myth of the Master Builder: Robert Moses, New York, and the Dynamics of Metropolitan Development Since World War II: Robert Moses, New York, and the Dynamics of Metropolitan Development Since World War II. Journal of Urban History, 17(4), 339-362. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/009614429101700401

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SYMHC Classics: Eradication of Smallpox Sep 19, 2026

Show notes

This 2021 episode covers smallpox, a viral disease that has existed for millennia. But it’s now one of only two diseases that’s been eradicated through human activity, and a global plan was enacted to do it.

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Behind the Scenes Minis: Progressive Medicine Sep 18, 2026

Show notes

Holly talks about the lack information about Pinel’s family, and how much she’d like to see Oscar Wilde use social media. Tracy discusses the way the Cooley episode narrowed down the scope of her originally planned topic.

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Coley's Toxins and the Origins of Immunotherapy Sep 16, 2026

Show notes

William B. Coley started using a bacterial infection to treat cancers in the late 19th century, one of the earliest uses of immunotherapy.

Research:

Ahuja, Sana and Sufian Zaheer. “The evolution of cancer immunotherapy: a comprehensive review of its history and current perspectives.” Korean Journal of Clinical Oncology 2024; 20(2): 51-73. DOI: https://doi.org/10.14216/kjco.24009
Atkins, Douglas. “Helen Coley Nauts: Advocate for Immunotherapy.” National Library of Medicine. 4/19/2016. https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2016/04/19/helen-coley-nauts-advocate-for-immunotherapy/
Cancer Research Institute. “The History of Cancer Immunotherapy.”
Coley, William B. “Therapeutic Value of the Mixed Toxins of the Streptococcus of Erysipelas and Bacillus Prodigiosus in the Treatment of Inoperable Malignant Tumors. With a Report of 160 Cases.” American Journal of the Medical Sciences. September 1896.
College of Physicians of Philadelphia. “Cancer Vaccines and Immunotherapy.” History of Vaccines. https://historyofvaccines.org/vaccines-101/future-immunization/cancer-vaccines-and-immunotherapy/
Colley, William B. “The Treatment of Inoperable Sarcoma by Bacterial Toxins (the Mixed Toxins of the Streptococcus erysipelas and the Bacillus prodigiosus).” Reprinted from the “ Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine,” November, 1909. London. John Bale, Sons & Danielsson, LTD. 1909. https://archive.org/details/b22425949/mode/1up
Decker WK, da Silva RF, Sanabria MH, Angelo LS, Guimarães F, Burt BM, Kheradmand F and Paust S (2017) Cancer Immunotherapy: Historical Perspective of a Clinical Revolution and Emerging Preclinical Animal Models. Front. Immunol. 8:829. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2017.00829
Devaraja, K. et al. “Coley’s Toxin to First Approved Therapeutic Vaccine—A Brief Historical Account in the Progression of Immunobiology-Based Cancer Treatment.” Biomedicines 2024, 12, 2746. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines12122746
Dobosz, Paula and Tomasz Dzieciatkowski.” The Intriguing History of Cancer Immunotherapy. Frontiers in Immunology. 12/17/2019. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2019.02965
Hall, Stephen S. “A Commotion in the Blood: Life, Death, and the Immune System.” Henry Holt and Company. Excerpted at New York Times. https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/first/h/hall-commotion.html
Harutyunyan, Mariam. “How William Coley Became The Father of Cancer Immunotherapy.” OncoDaily Magazine. 7/31/2026. https://oncodaily.com/magazine/william-coley-549446
Hiroaki Ikeda, Cancer immunotherapy in progress—an overview of the past 130 years, International Immunology, Volume 37, Issue 5, May 2025, Pages 253–260, https://doi.org/10.1093/intimm/dxaf002
Journal of the American Medical Association. “Erysipelas Toxins in the Treatment of Malignant Tumors.” 10/27/1894.
Journal of the American Medical Association. “The Failure of the Erysipelas Toxins.” Vol 23 Iss 24. 12/15/1894.
Kokolus, Katie. “The History of Immunotherapy: Toxins, Targets & T Cells.” LabRoots. 10/18/2021. https://www.labroots.com/trending/cancer/21449/history-immunotherapy-toxins-targets-cells?srsltid=AfmBOooP1eoVP2LbWKR5m-HLu1PSBFhOyPH1jSJWWcxvyK6EA4-hBu47
Levine, David B. “The Hospital for the Ruptured and Crippled: William Bradley Coley, third Surgeon-in-Chief 1925-1933.” HSS journal : the musculoskeletal journal of Hospital for Special Surgery vol. 4,1 (2008): 1-9. doi:10.1007/s11420-007-9063-2
McCarthy, Edward F. “The Toxins of William B. Coley and the Treatment of Bone and Soft-tissue Sarcomas.” The Iowa Orthopaedic Journal. Vol. 26.
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Nauts, Helen Coley. “Coley’s Toxins – The First Century.” Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients. June 2004.
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Philippe Pinel Sep 14, 2026

Show notes

Pinel’s work is considered the precursor to psychiatry. In the late 18th century, he overhauled the asylum system of Paris with his groundbreaking ideas about mental health.

Research:

Bicêtre Hospital. https://hopital-bicetre.aphp.fr/lhopital
Boullerne, A.I., et al. “The origins and early history of neurochemistry and its societies.” Journal of Neurochemistry. 152: 8-28. 2020.  https://doi.org/10.1111/jnc.14839
Chambers, William. “Chambers' Edinburgh journal.” Vol. 11-132. 1849. London. William Orr. https://archive.org/details/chambersedinburg1112cham/page/n179/mode/2up
Charland, Louis C. 2018. “Lost in Myth, Lost in Translation: Philippe Pinel’s 1809 Medico-Philosophical Treatise on Mental Alienation.” International Journal of Mental Health 47 (3): 245–49. doi:10.1080/00207411.2018.1483053.
Gallaher, John G. and Paul Stewart. “Fall of Robespierre.” EBSCO. 2023. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/fall-robespierre
Hewitt, Jessie. “Gender and the Founding ‘Fathers’ of French Psychiatry.” Institutionalizing Gender: Madness, the Family, and Psychiatric Power in Nineteenth-Century France, Cornell University Press, 2020, pp. 19–42. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7591/j.ctv136c5pw.5
Huneman, Philippe. “Writing the Case—Pinel as Psychiatrist.” Republics of Letters: A Journal for the Study of Knowledge, Politics, and the Arts 3, no. 2 ( January 15, 2014): http://arcade.stanford.edu/rofl/writing-case -pinel-psychiatrist.
KAVKA, JEROME. “PINEL’S CONCEPTION OF THE PSYCHOPATHIC STATE: An Historical Critique.” Bulletin of the History of Medicine, vol. 23, no. 5, 1949, pp. 461–68. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/44442272
Kendler, Kenneth S. “Philippe Pinel and the foundations of modern psychiatric nosology.” Psychological medicine vol. 50,16 (2020): 2667-2672. doi:10.1017/S0033291720004183
Lakritz, Kenneth, MD. “Michel Foucault’s Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason.” Psychiatric Times. Vol. 26, no. 6. June 4, 2009. https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/michel-foucaults-madness-and-civilization-history-insanity-age-reason
Paradowski, Robert J., PhD. “Philippe Pinel.” EBSCO. 2024. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/health-and-medicine/philippe-pinel
Pearce, J.M.S. “The beginnings of humane psychiatry: Pinel and the Tukes.” Hektoen International. June 4, 2020. https://hekint.org/2020/06/04/the-beginnings-of-humane-psychiatry-pinel-and-the-tukes/
Pinel, Philippe. Tr. by Gordon Hickish, David Healy, Louis C. Charland. “MEDICO-PHILOSOPHICAL TREATISE ON MENTAL ALIENATION.” Wiley-Blackwell. 2008. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/9780470712238.fmatter
Pinel, Philippe. “A Treatise on Insanity … “ Sheffield. W. Todd. 1806. https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_4snWNO1lETAC/page/n7/mode/2up
Pinel, Philippe. “A Treatise on Insanity.” New York : Published under the auspices of the Library of the New York Academy of Medicine by Hafner Pub. Co. 1962. Accessed online: https://archive.org/details/treatiseoninsani0000pine/page/n1/mode/2up
Weiner, D B. “Philippe Pinel's "Memoir on Madness" of December 11, 1794: a fundamental text of modern psychiatry.” The American journal of psychiatry. vol. 149,6 (1992): 725-32. doi:10.1176/ajp.149.6.725
Weissmann, Gerald. “Citizen Pinel and the Madman at Bellevue.” The FASEB Journal. May 1, 2008. https://faseb.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1096/fj.08-0501ufm
WILLIAMS, ELIZABETH A. “Stomach and Psyche: Eating, Digestion, and Mental Illness in the Medicine of Philippe Pinel.” Bulletin of the History of Medicine, vol. 84, no. 3, 2010, pp. 358–86. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/44448968
WOODS, EVELYN A., and ERIC T. CARLSON. “THE PSYCHIATRY OF PHILIPPE PINEL.” Bulletin of the History of Medicine, vol. 35, no. 1, 1961, pp. 14–25. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/44446761

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