Washington BioHistory

Learn about the scientists behind the discoveries, entrepreneurs,
political leaders, and significant events, people and institutions that are the foundation
of the biotechnology, medical device, pharmaceutical and life science industries
in the state of Washington.

1848 -- American Association for the Advancement of Science founded.

Today, the AAAS serves nearly 300 affiliated societies and academies of science and publishes the peer-reviewed general science journal Science. The non-profit AAAS is open to all and fulfills its mission to "advance science and serve society" through initiatives that include science policy, international programs, science education, and public understanding of science.

1859 -- Charles Darwin published "The Origin of Species."

From 1831-1836, Darwin served as a naturalist aboard the H.M.S. Beagle -- a British science expedition around the world. In South America Darwin discovered fossils of extinct animals that were similar to modern species, and on the Galapagos Islands, located west of Equador, he noticed many variations of plants and animals of the same general type as those in South America. Throughout the expedition Darwin studied plants and animals and collected specimens for further study.

Upon his return to London, Darwin conducted thorough research of his notes and specimens, and out of his study grew several related theories: evolution did occur; evolutionary change was gradual, requiring thousands to millions of years; the primary mechanism for evolution was a process called natural selection; and the millions of species alive today arose from a single original life form through a branching process called "specialization."

Darwin's theory of evolutionary selection holds that variation within species occurs randomly and that the survival or extinction of each organism is determined by that organism's ability to adapt to its environment. Darwin's theory of evolution remains the foundation of modern biology.

Suggested Reading:

	From So Simple a Beginning: Darwin's Four Great Books (Voyage of the Beagle, The Origin of Species, The Descent of Man, The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals) By Charles Darwin, Edward O. Wilson. Published by W. W. Norton. 2005.
	The Reluctant Mr. Darwin: An Intimate Portrait of Charles Darwin and the Making of His Theory of Evolution By David Quammen. Published by W. W. Norton. 2006.

1861 -- University of Washington founded.

Since 1969, the

1865 -- Gregor Mendel, the father of modern genetics, presents his laws of heredity.

"In 1859 I obtained a very fertile descendant with large, tasty seeds from a first generation hybrid. Since in the following year, its progeny retained the desirable characteristics and were uniform, the variety was cultivated in our vegetable garden, and many plants were raised every year up to 1865. (Gregor Mendel to Carl Nägeli, April 1867).

1882 -- Benjamin P. Cheney Academy (Eastern Washington University) founded.

1890 -- Washington State University founded.

1887 -- Marine Hospital Service Hygienic Laboratory (National Institutes of Health) founded.

The

During the 1870s and 1880s, scientists in Europe presented compelling evidence that microscopic organisms were the causes of several infectious diseases, and MHS officials closely followed these developments. In 1887, Joseph Kinyoun, a MHS physician trained in the new bacteriological methods, set up a one-room laboratory in the Marine Hospital at Stapleton, Staten Island, New York. Kinyoun called this facility a "laboratory of hygiene" in imitation of German facilities, and within a few months, he identified the cholera bacillus and used his Zeiss microscope to demonstrate it to his colleagues as confirmation of their clinical diagnoses.

In 1912 MHS was reorganized, renamed the Public Health Service (PHS) and authorized to conduct research into noncontagious diseases and into the pollution of streams and lakes in the U.S. During World War I, the PHS attended primarily to sanitation of areas around military bases in the U.S., and when the 1918 influenza pandemic struck Washington, physicians from the laboratory were pressed into service treating patients in the District of Columbia because so many local doctors had fallen ill. In 1930, the Ransdell Act changed the name of the Hygienic Laboratory to the National Institute of Health (NIH) and authorized the establishment of fellowships for research into basic biological and medical problems. The roots of this act extended to 1918, when chemists who had worked with the Chemical Warfare Service in World War I sought to establish an institute in the private sector to apply fundamental knowledge in chemistry to problems of medicine. In 1937, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) was created with sponsorship from every Senator in Congress, and was authorized to award grants to nonfederal scientists for research on cancer and to fund fellowships at NCI for young researchers.

The NIH today, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the primary Federal agency for conducting and supporting medical research and is composed of 27 Institutes and Centers, providing leadership and financial support to researchers in every state and throughout the world.

1907 -- Children’s Orthopedic Hospital Association founded.

Anna Herr Clise, her husband James W. Clise and their newborn daughter Ruth arrived in Seattle June 7, 1889, with the urging of James’ sister they left their home and prosperous real-estate business in Colorado to join her in Seattle. James quickly became one of Seattle’s leading real-estate developers and financiers, and by 1893, Anna and James added two more children — both boys — to Seattle’s rapidly growing population of 43,000. In 1898, tragedy struck the Clise family when their youngest son, 6-year-old Willis succumbed to an untreatable inflammatory rheumatism (acute swelling of the body’s joints). At the time of Willis’ death, the closest children’s hospital was in San Francisco; and the most advanced treatments for children was at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Out of this tragedy, Anna Herr Clise, with her family and other Seattle community leaders founded the Children’s Orthopedic Hospital Association.

Today, Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center occupies a 24-acre site in Seattle's Laurelhurst neighborhood and serves as the pediatric referral center for Washington, Alaska, Montana and Idaho. In 2006, the Seattle Children’s Hospital Research Institute was founded to “treat, prevent and eliminate childhood disease”. The Research Institute campus encompasses two city blocks in Seattle's Denny Triangle Neighborhood, and occupies two buildings totaling 500,000 square feet with adjacent land capable of supporting an additional 800,000 square feet.

1918 -- Spanish Influenza Pandemic.

It is estimated that between 25 and 40 million people died from the the influenza outbreak that began in 1918, swept across America in a week and around the world in three months. In all, between 500,000 and 700,000 Americans --civilians and soldiers-- died from the influenza, more than were lost in World War I, II, and the Korean and Viet Nam wars combined.

The Spanish Flu reached the state of Washington in September, 1918 with soldiers being transferred from Pennsylvania to Bremerton, returning home from the battlefields of Europe in World War I. Across the state, public assemblies were prohibited and citizens were required to wear gauze masks to prevent the spread of the virus. By the end of September, it was estimated that 2,000 individuals had died from the virus in Seattle. By 1920, the influenza outbreak was over, but given the lack of statistical gathering, the true impact of the outbreak in the state will never be known.

Latest Findings: In September 2004, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded a five-year, $12.5 million grant to five institutions that will collaborate to study genes constructed from 1918 flu-virus particles salvaged from the bodies of World War I soldiers and the exhumed Brevig Mission, Alaska resident. The Institutions include the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Washington, D.C.; Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York; Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and the University of Washington. The ultimate goal is to use knowledge gained from the study to develop vaccines, influenza medications and diagnostic tests to prevent a similar influenza outbreak.

Suggested Reading:

	America's Forgotten Pandemic: The Influenza of 1918 By Alfred W. Crosby. Published by Cambridge University Press. 1990.
	The Great Influenza By John Barry. Published by Viking Press. 2004.

1921 -- Hollister-Stier founded.

1933 -- Thomas Hunt Morgan awarded Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his chromosome theory of heredity.

Thomas Hunt Morgan pioneered the new science of genetics through experimental research with the fruit fly (Drosophila), laying the foundations for the future of biology. On the basis of fly-breeding experiments he demonstrated that genes are linked in a series on chromosomes and that they determine indentifiable, hereditary traits. In 1928, Thomas Hunt Morgan transferred to the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) to organize work in biology, and five years later he was awarded the 1933 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his chromosome theory of heredity. (Photo: © The Nobel Foundation)

1941-1983 -- Federal revenues flow into Washington State under the political leadership of U.S. Senators Henry "Scoop" Jackson and Warren Magnuson.

Senators Henry "Scoop" Jackson and Warren G. Magnuson, nicknamed the "Gold Dust Twins" for their ability to attract federal money, represented Washington in the U.S. Congress for an ammassed total of eighty-nine years, and during that period their rise to seniority leadership (a combined sixty-four years in the Senate) resulted in a growing stream of federal dollars into Washington State. (Photos: Henry Jackson and Warren G. Magnuson courtesy U.S. Senate Historical Office)

Henry “Scoop” Jackson An influential Democrat in Washington State served in the Served in House of Representatives from 1941-53 and the U.S. Senate from 1953-83. Chair of the Democratic National Committee 1960. Unsuccessful candidate for the democratic nomination for president in 1972 and 1976. Jackson was influential on issues of particular interest to the West, including public lands, reclamation, and hydroelectric power development. Senator Jackson served as a member of the Interior and Energy Committee (Chair), Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, Armed Services Committee, and Select Committee on Intelligence. Senator Jackson authored the landmark National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Land Conservation Act of 1964, Wilderness Act of 1964, Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968, established the Council on Environmental Quality (forerunner to the Environmental Protection Agency, and sponsored legislation to preserve vast park lands and wilderness areas throughout the U.S., including the North Cascades Park, Olympic National Park, and the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area in Washington State, and Redwood National Park in Calfornia. He also authored the Alaska and Hawaii Statehood Acts.

Warren G. Magnuson An influential Democrat in Washington State served in the in the House of Representatives from 1934-44 and U.S. Senate from 1944-81. In 1937, Senator Magnuson introduced legislation creating the National Cancer Institute, and in 1945 Magnuson introduced a bill to create a National Research Foundation now known as the National Institutes of Health. In the 1960's Senator Magnuson was instrumental in establishing the Medicare and Medicaid programs, civil rights legislation and consumer protection legislation. In 1970, Senator Magnuson introduced legislation establishing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and is known as the "Father of NOAA." In 1972, Senator Magnuson helped secure federal funds through the National Cancer Institute to establish the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle now the leading bone marrow transplant facility in the world. In 1973, Senator Magnuson received the Albert Lasker Public Service Adward for his outstanding leadership and support of medical research and health legislation for the people of the United States. The University of Washington’s health Science Center, established in 1970, is called the Warren G. Manguson Health Sciences Center. Senator Magnuson has been called one of the 20th century's most powerful legislators West of the Mississippi next to his mentor Sam Rayburn and close friend Lyndon Johnson. Magnuson's impact on the state of Washington continues to be felt ranging from legislation and funding of hydroelectric dams (the foundation of the state's economy) and public utility districts to the World's Fairs in Seattle and Spokane (including the Pacific Science Center), the 200 mile foreign fishing limit, military bases, national parks and much more.

Suggested Reading:

	Henry M. Jackson : A Life in Politics By Robert Gordon Kaufman. Published by University of Washington Press. 2003.
	Warren G. Magnuson and the Shaping of Twentieth-Century America (Emil and Kathleen Sick Lecture-Book Series in Western History and biography) By Shelby Scates, Hughs. Published by University of Washington Press. 1997.

1947 -- Transistor invented at AT&T's Bell Laboratories.

Transistors have become an invisible technology that is part of almost every electronic device. Every major information age innovation was made possible by the transistor and its application can be found all around us.

Brattain received his B.S. degree from Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA and a M.A. degree from the University of Oregon. (Photos: © The Nobel Foundation)

1953 -- Double helix structure of DNA revealed.

Rosalind Franklin, whose work contributed to the discovery, died before this date and the rules do not allow a Nobel Prize to be awarded posthumously. (Photos: © The Nobel Foundation)

Suggested Reading:

	The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA. By James D. Watson. Published by Touchstone Books. 2001.
	DNA - The Secret to Life. By James D. Watson, Andrew Berry. Published by Knopf. 2003.
	Genes, Girls, and Gamow: After the Double Helix. By James D. Watson. Published by Vintage. 2003.
	Rosalind Franklin: The Dark Lady of DNA. By Brenda Maddox. Published by Perennial. 2003.
	The Third Man of the Double Helix: The Autobiography of Maurice Wilkins. By Maurice Wilkins. Published by Oxford University Press. 2003.

1956 -- Pacific Northwest Research Foundation founded.

The

1956 -- Virginia Mason Research Center founded.

1958 -- Integrated circuit invented.

Jack Kilby, an engineer at Texas Instruments shows only a transistor and other components on a slice of germanium. This invention (7/16-by-1/16-inches in size), called an integrated circuit, revolutionized the electronics industry. Kilby was awarded the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physics for his invention of the integrated circuit. (Photo: Jack Kilby courtesy of Texas Instruments)

1961 -- President John F. Kennedy expands U.S. Space Program

Listen to

1965 -- Battelle Pacific Northwest Division founded.

1969 -- Man walks on the moon.

In July of 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, American astronauts, made history by becoming the first men to walk on the moon. Listen to Neil Armstrong's first words as he steps onto the lunar surface (66 kb .wav file). (Photo: Courtesy of the National Aeronautics & Space Administration)

An important benefit of the Apollo Lunar Program and other NASA programs is the ever-growing pipeline of technology that improves human and veterinary healthcare diagnostics and therapeutics.

1969 -- Victor McKusick publishes "Mendelian Inheritance in Man".

Victor McKusick, widely acknowledged as the father of medical genetics, spent his career studying the genetic basis of diseases and disorders with the belief that such an understanding could lead to new methods of diagnosis and treatment. He studied, identified, and mapped genes responsible for inherited conditions such as Marfan syndrome and dwarfism (specifically in Amish communities). In 1969, he proposed the idea of mapping the human genome, over 30 years before the Human Genome Project was established.

McKusick, a graduate of Johns Hopkins (M.D. 1946), spent his entire career there and founded the Division of Medical Genetics in 1957, the first research center and clinic of its kind. In 1969 he published the 1st edition of his book "Mendelian Inheritance of Man", one of the most comprehensive collections of inherited disease genes. In 2002, McKusick received the highest scientific honor in the U.S., the National Medal of Science.

1971 -- NASDAQ Stock Market founded.

Suggested Reading:

NASDAQ: A History of the Market That Changed the World. By Mark Ingebretsen. Published by Prima Lifestyles. 2002.

1972 -- Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center founded.

The "Hutch," one of 35 comprehensive cancer centers nationwide, was established through the efforts of Dr. William Hutchinson, brother of baseball hero Fred Hutchinson, and Washington state's legendary U.S. Senator Warren Magnuson. The Hutchinson Center and University of Washington are the technology foundation of Washington's biotechnology industry. In fact, nearly one-half of the biotechnology firms in the state are founded on technologies developed at these institutions.

1973 -- Recombinant DNA perfected.

The modern era of biotechnology begins when Stanley Cohen of Stanford University and Herbert Boyer of the University of California at San Francisco successfully recombine ends of bacterial DNA after splicing a toad gene in between. They call their accomplishment recombinant DNA, but the media prefers using the term genetic engineering. (Photo: Courtesy Stanley Cohen)

1974 -- Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).

John N. Erlenborn, the ranking Republican on the House Committee, was responsible for bringing the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to a floor vote, and is one of the ERISA’s "Founding Fathers." Together with Senator Jacob Javits (R-NY), Senator Pete Williams (D-NJ) and Congressman John Dent (D-PA), Erlenborn crafted provisions and participated in negotiations that were instrumental to the enactment of ERISA which was - and remains - the single most important legislation governing employee benefit plans in the United States providing an important source of financial investment for the stock market. (Photos: Jacob Javits and Pete Williams courtesy U.S. Senate Historical Office).

1975 -- Monoclonal antibodies produced.

The 1984 Nobel Laureate in Medicine was awarded jointly to: Niels Jerne, Georges Köhler and César Milstein for theories concerning the specificity in development and control of the immune system and the discovery of the principle for production of monoclonal antibodies. (Photos: © The Nobel Foundation).

1976 -- Genentech, founder of the biotechnology industry, established.

Within a few short years Swanson and Boyer invented a new industry - biotechnology. In 1980, Genentech issued its Initial Public Offering (IPO) and raised $35 million with an offering that jumped from $35 a share to a high of $88 after less than an hour on the market. The event was one of the largest stock run-ups ever, and that event set the stage for future biotechnolgy industry offerings.

Genentech was initially broadly focused in three areas including food processing, industrial chemicals, and human health care. In 1982, Eli Lilly & Co. which had acquired worldwide rights to Genenetch's recombinant human insulin (1978) received FDA approval to market the product -- the first biotechnology therapeutic to reach the marketplace.

Beginning in 1983, Genentech became solely focused on human therapeutics and diagnostics, and in 1985, Genentech received approval from FDA to market its first product, Protropin® (somatrem for injection) growth hormone for children with growth hormone deficiency — the first recombinant pharmaceutical product to be manufactured and marketed by a biotechnology company. In 1990, Genentech and Roche Holding Ltd. of Basel, Switzerland completed a $2.1 billion merger. Today, Genentech is among the world's leading biotech companies with multiple protein-based products on the market for serious or life-threatening medical conditions.

1977 -- First human gene cloned.

Walter Gilbert induced bacteria to synthesize insulin and interferon, and Frederick Sanger published the complete sequence of phage FX174. The 1980 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry was awarded jointly to Frederick Sanger and Walter Gilbert for "for their contributions concerning the determination of base sequences in nucleic acids, and to Paul Berg for his fundamental studies of the biochemistry of nucleic acids, with particular regard to recombinant-DNA. (Photos: © The Nobel Foundation).

1980 -- U.S. Supreme Court ruled man-made organism patentable.

In 1972, Chakrabarty, a microbiologist, filed a patent application, assigned to the General Electric Co. for a human-made genetically engineered bacterium capable of breaking down multiple components of crude oil. Because of this property, which is possessed by no naturally occurring bacteria, Chakrabarty's invention was believed to have significant value for the treatment of oil spills. The application asserted 36 claims related to Chakrabarty's invention of "a bacterium from the genus Pseudomonas containing therein at least two stable energy-generating plasmids, each of said plasmids providing a separate hydrocarbon degradative pathway.

Opinions: Chief Justice Warren Burger delivered the opinion of the Court, in which justices Potter Stewart, Harry Blackmun, William Rehnquist, and John Paul Stevens joined. William Brennan filed a dissenting opinion, in which Byron White, Thurgood Marshall, and Lewis Powell joined.

1980 -- Bayh-Dole Act provides for university technology transfer.

H.R.6933, Public Law: 96-517, December 12, 1980. A bill to amend title 35 of the United States Code. This Act known as the Bayh-Dole Act provided for the legal transfer of research and technology originating from U.S. universities and federal laboratories to private companies for commercialization. Technology transfer offices are now common in universities and federal laboratories and are the technology foundation for numerous biotechnology and medical device companies. (Photos: Birch Bayh and Robert Dole courtesy U.S. Senate Historical Office)

1981 -- Immunex Corporation established.

1983 -- Orphan Drug Act created.

The Orphan Drug Act provided for financial incentives to help companies recover the cost of developing much needed therapies for small patient populations. The FDA estimates that more than 11 million patients in the U.S. and millions more around the world, have benefited from this legislation.

1983 -- Washington Technology Center founded.

1986 - Microsoft Corporation Initial Public Offering.

Microsoft Corporation, founded by Bill Gates Jr. and Paul Allen in 1975, and headquartered in Redmond, Washington, has had a significant impact on the Seattle and Washington State economy. The state's biotechnology industry, in particular, has been a major beneficiary of Gates, Allen and other Microsoft employee investments.

1989 -- Washington State Legislature creates Governor's Biotechnology Advisory Committee.

Committee recomendations included improving the state's tax structure to encourage company development, supporting investment in higher education and hands-on training programs, the creation of a state-supported biotechnology investment fund, and the creation of incubator facilities and shared equipment programs. To support the implementation of the committee's recommendations, DTED assisted in the founding of the Washington Biotechnology & Biomedical Association (WBBA) in 1989. In 1990, the WBBA initiated dialogue with the State's Legislature resulting in the inital paassage in 1994 of Washington State Sales Tax Exemption for High Technology R&D/Manufacturing. This initial tax legislation was subsequently expanded and modified to further support the state's industry.

1989 -- Washington Biotechnology & Biomedical Association founded.

The

1990 -- ICOS Corporation established.

1990 -- E. Donnall Thomas, awarded Nobel Laureate in Medicine.

E. Donnall Thomas from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center was awarded the 1990 Nobel Prize for Medicine for discoveries concerning organ and cell transplantation in the treatment of human disease. (Photo: E. Donnall Thomas, courtesy Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center)

1990 -- Human Genome Project established.

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1991 -- Leroy Hood recruited to University of Washington.

1992 -- Edmund Fischer and Edwin Krebs, awarded Nobel Laureate in Medicine.

Edmund Fischer and Edwin Krebs from the University of Washington were awarded the 1992 Nobel Prize for Medicine for their discoveries on reverse protein phosphorylation. (Photos: © Nobel Foundation)

1993 -- Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) founded.

1993 -- Kary B. Mullis awarded Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Kary B. Mullis of La Jolla, CA and a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley (Ph.D) was awarded the 1993 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for contributions to the developments of methods within DNA-based chemistry, specifically for his invention of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. (Photo: © The Nobel Foundation) PCR allows scientists to quickly replicate small strands of DNA, greatly simplifying the sequencing and cloning of genes. First presented in 1985, PCR has become one of the most widespread methods of analyzing DNA. Notably, PCR requires the heat-stable enzyme Taq (Thermus Aquaticus) which originated from hot springs located in Yellowstone National Park.

1994 -- Spokane Intercollegiate Research & Technology Institute founded.

1994 -- WA State Sales Tax Exemption for High Technology R&D/Manufacturing enacted.

This tax incentive, sponsored by Rep. Bill Finkbeiner, was the result of many years of work by numerous individuals from the private sector, the Department of Trade and Economic Development, the Legislature, the Governor's office and the Department of Revenue. In the end, the legislation received bipartisan support in the House (78 yes; 15 no; 5 absent) and in the Senate (34 yes; 11 no; 4 absent).

Tax Incentive/Bill Signing: Rep. Bill Finkbeiner, Sen. Sylvia Skratek, Rep. Jim Johansen, Tom Ranken (Immunex), Pat Dunn, Howard Mendelsohn (ICOS), Phil Ness (DTED), Vickie Chiechi with Governor Mike Lowry, April 4, 1994 -- Signing  High Technology Tax Incentive Bill.

1999 -- BIO'99 International Meeting & Exhibition held in Seattle.

2000 -- Institute for Systems Biology founded.

2001 -- Human Genome Project draft sequence published.

• Human Genome Educational Kit

2001 -- Leland H. Hartwell, awarded Nobel Laureate in Medicine.

Leland H.Hartwell from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center was awarded the 2001 Nobel Prize for Medicine for discoveries of key regulators of the cell cycle. (Photo: Leland Hartwell, courtesy Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center)

2002 -- Immunex Corporation acquired by Amgen.

On July 15, 2002, Amgen (Nasdaq: AMGN) completed it's acquisition of Immunex Corporation for $16 billion in stock and net cash.

2003 -- The Allen Brain Atlas established.

2004 -- Linda Buck awarded Nobel Laureate in Medicine.

Linda B. Buck from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize for Medicine for discoveries of odorant receptors and the organization of the olfactory system. (Photo: Linda Buck, courtesy Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center)

2005 -- Life Sciences Discovery Fund Authority established.

WA BioEvolution -- a one-of-a-kind genealogy chart that illustrates the "technology origins" of more than 250 firms and non-profit research organizations that comprise the biotechnology and medical device industry in the state of Washington.

Other State & Province BioHistories

Plus the provinces of:

• Alberta
• British Columbia

Washington BioHistory(TM) and Washington BioEvolution(TM) © 2008 Info.Resource, Inc.