Portrait of E. Donnall Thomas

Birthday profile

E. Donnall Thomas

E. Donnall Thomas, American physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2012)

Born
March 15, 1920
Died
October 20, 2012
Zodiac sign
Pisces
Birth year
1920

About E. Donnall Thomas

Edward Donnall "Don" Thomas (March 15, 1920 – October 20, 2012) was an American physician, professor emeritus at the University of Washington, and director emeritus of the clinical research division at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. In 1990 he shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Joseph E. Murray for the development of cell and organ transplantation. Thomas and his wife and research partner Dottie Thomas developed bone marrow transplantation as a treatment for leukemia. Thomas was a lead investigator in a failed series of experimental treatments for leukemia and for Graft-versus-host disease at Seattle's Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center from 1981 to 1993. Participants were not informed that Thomas and other researchers had a potential financial conflict of interest in the trials, and were never properly informed of the risks. The study continued despite objections from members of the Center’s Internal Review Board. 84 of the 85 participants in the study died.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

The world when E. Donnall Thomas was born

E. Donnall Thomas was born in 1920. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1920

  • #1 song"Swanee" – Al Jolson
  • Top movieThe Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
  • Best-selling bookThe Age of Innocence – Edith Wharton

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentBabe Ruth sold to the New York Yankees
  • Top headlineWomen win the right to vote with the 19th Amendment
  • Technology milestoneFirst commercial radio broadcasts
  • Defining fadFlappers and the Jazz Age
  • Notable inventionBand-Aid adhesive bandages
  • World population1.86 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderWoodrow Wilson
  • Sports championCleveland Indians (World Series)
  • U.S. population106.0M

1920 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in E. Donnall Thomas's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19202026
Gas$0.30$3.45/gal
Average home$6,296$435,000
Average income$3,269$67,500
Movie ticket$0.15$11.95
Postage stamp$0.02$0.73
Population106.0M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Library of Congress, Wikidata. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.