Salk Announces Polio Vaccine: The Disease That Crippled Millions Gets a Cure
He tested it on himself first. Then his wife. Then their three children. Jonas Salk couldn't ask parents to trust him with their kids until he'd risked his own family on an experimental vaccine that might cause the very paralysis it promised to prevent. On March 26, 1953, he announced success—a killed-virus vaccine that worked without the dangers of live virus. Within two years, 1.8 million schoolchildren lined up for shots in the largest medical trial in history. The disease that had paralyzed 21,000 Americans in 1952 alone? Virtually eliminated by 1979. When asked who owned the patent, Salk replied, "The people, I would say. There is no patent. Could you patent the sun?"
March 26, 1953
73 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on March 26
Emperor Maurice elevated his son Theodosius to the rank of co-emperor, formally securing the Theodosian dynasty’s hold on the Byzantine throne. This calculated …
The first Eid al-Fitr wasn't planned—it emerged from exhaustion. After Muhammad and his followers completed the first mandatory Ramadan fast in 624 CE, they gat…
en la península ibérica, los nobles hispanos acaudillados por Sisenando y con la ayuda del rey franco Dagoberto, derrotan y deponen al rey visigodo Suintila.
en Asturias, 519 nobles proclaman a Don Pelayo primer rey.
élection et intronisation du pape Étienne II.
The body vanished during a donkey ride outside Cairo, but the Fatimid court pretended their caliph was still alive for six weeks. Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah had terr…
Talk to History
Have a conversation with historical figures who witnessed this era. Ask questions, explore perspectives, and bring history to life.