Dates Key Investigators
340 BC Generation of Animals Aristotle 300 BC Discovery of ovaries, pineal gland Herophilus 1561 Description of oviducts Fallopius 1672 Depiction of seminiferous tubule, follicle, CL de Graaf 1678 Microscopic observation of seminal spermatozoa van Leeuwenhoek 1759 Epigenics; embryonic origin of male ducts Wolff 1782 Artificial insemination Spallanzani 1786 Testicular regulation of male accessory glands Hunter 1824-27 Fertilizing capability of spermatozoa Prévost, Dumas 1827 Discovery of the ovum von Baer 1830 Embryology of female duct system Müller 1838 Embryonic origin of the adenohypophysis Rathke 1843 Report of sperm penetration of mammalian ova Barry 1849 Androgenizing effects of testis Berthold 1850 Description of testicular interstitial cells von Leydig 1865 Description of seminiferous epithelium Sertoli 1883 Haploid nature of gametes van Beneden 1890 Embryo transfer (rabbit) Heape 1891 Embryo splitting (echinoderm) Driesch 1895 Origin of CL Sobotta 1897 Role of epididymis in sperm maturation Hammar 1900-10 Ovarian regulation of the uterus Knauer, Fraenkel, Ancel, Bouin 1900/40s Pioneering studies of ovarian cycles Heape, Marshall, Hammond, Hartman, Asdell 1901 Genetic determination of sex McClung 1903 Male hormone produced by Leydig cells Bouin, Ancel 1905 Endocrine function of placenta Halban 1906 Uterotonic action of oxytocin Dale* Concept of ligand-receptor binding Langley, Ehrlich* 1911-23 Ovulation-inhibiting effect of luteal extracts Loeb, Haberlandt 1912 Gonadal atrophy following hypophysectomy Aschner 1917 Vaginal smear Stockard, Papanicolaou 1922 Detailed description of rat estrous cycle Long, Evans 1922-30 Thermoregulation of spermatogenesis Crew, Walton 1923 Effect of hysterectomy on luteal function Loeb 1920/30s Characterizations of gonadal steroid hormones Allen, Butenandt*, Corner, Doisy*, Koch, Marrian, Laqueur Commercial application of AI to livestock Ivanoff, Milovanov 1926 Discovery of relaxin Hisaw 1927 Discovery of hCG Aschheim, Zondek Parapharyngeal hypophysectomy Smith 1928 Discovery of prolactin Stricker, Grueter 1929 Pituitary involvement in reflex ovulation Fee, Parkes 1930 Discovery of PMSG Cole, Hart Description of hypophyseal portal vessels Popa, Fielding 1930s Discovery of prostaglandins Kurzok, Lieb, Goldblatt, von Euler* Delineation of menstrual ovulatory phase Hartman 1931 Recognition of distinct pituitary gonadotropins Fevold 1932 Pituitary feedback via sex steroids Moore, Price Postulated existence of inhibin McCullagh Isolation of urinary estrogens Girard 1933 Prolactin bioassay Riddle, Bates 1935-36 Studies of hypophyseal portal blood flow Houssay*, Wislocki, King 1936 Gonadotropic control of testis Greep 1937 Positive feedback effect of estradiol Hohlweg 1940 Semen preservation Phillips, Lardy 1940s Prostatic pathology/secretions Huggins* 1940/50s Evidence for anti-Mullerian hormone Jost 1940/60s Spermatogenesis/sperm anatomy Ortavant, Clermont, Fawcett Development of neuroendocrinology Hinsey, Markee, Everett, Sawyer 1941 Luteotropic role of prolactin Astwood Prostate bioassay for LH (androgens) Greep Anesthetic effect of steroid hormones Selye 1944 In vitro fertilization of a human ovum Rock, Menkin 1947 Neurovascular control of pituitary gland Green, Harris 1948 Control of bacterial growth in semen Almquist 1949 Discovery of sex chromatin Barr Analysis of ligand-binding data Scatchard Cryoprotection of sperm cells Polge 1950s Formulation of oral contraceptives Pincus, Chang, Colton, Djerassi 1951 Capacitation of sperm Austin, Chang 1953 Bioassay for FSH Steelman, Pohley Structure of oxytocin du Vigneaud* 1958 Discovery of cAMP Sutherland* Isolation of melatonin Lerner 1959 Advent of radioimmunoassay Yalow*, Berson Purification of LH Li Male-determining role of mammalian Y chromosome Welshons, Russell 1960s Hypothalamic control of prolactin secretion Meites Isolation of cAMP-dependent protein kinases Krebs* 1961 Ovarian ascorbate bioassay for LH Parlow 1960/70s Characterization of arachidonate metabolites Bergstrom*, Samuellson*, Vane* Photoperiodic control of melatonin/reproduction Quay, Reiter, Wurtman Structure/function of GnRH McCann, Schally*, Guillemin* Biochemistry of seminal plasma Mann, Williams-Ashman 1960/90s Mechanisms of steroid hormone action Mueller, Jensen, Gorski, Baulieu, Szego, O'Malley 1967 Subunit nature of gonadotropins Papkoff 1968 Isolation of dihydrotestosterone Wilson 1969 Luteolytic effect of PGF2α Pharris 1970 Episodic pattern of hormone secretions Knobil 1970s Utero-ovarian vascular relationships Ginther Purification of relaxin Sherwood, Schwabe 1978 Birth of first test-tube baby Steptoe, Edwards* 1970/80s Role of G-proteins in membrane receptor actions Rodbell*, Gilman* 1980s Transgenic animals Gordon, Ruddle, Brinster 1984 Purification of MIH Josso 1985 Purification of inhibin de Kretser, Miyamoto, Vale, Guillemin* 1988 Structure of prolactin receptor Kelly 1989 Genetic screening of human embryos Handyside 1989-90 Structure of LH and FSH receptors Segaloff 1990 Isolation of sex-determining region of Y gene Lovell-Badge, Goodfellow 1992 Structure of GnRH receptor Sealfon Structure of oxytocin receptor Kimura 1993 Human embryos cloned (six-cell stage) Hall, Stillman 1997 Sheep cloned from a nonembryonic cell Wilmut
*Nobel laureates.