{"id":6665,"date":"2020-09-23T08:38:53","date_gmt":"2020-09-23T12:38:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/radiology\/?page_id=6665"},"modified":"2025-07-31T16:46:39","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T20:46:39","slug":"athens-of-america","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/radiology\/radiology\/unique-city\/athens-of-america\/","title":{"rendered":"Athens of America"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/0\/08\/Boston_college_town_map.png\" alt=\"List of colleges and universities in metropolitan Boston - Wikipedia\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Boston has long been called the &#8220;Athens of America,&#8221; a tribute to its rich intellectual and cultural legacy. The city is home to some of the world\u2019s most prestigious universities, museums, and libraries, earning its reputation as a center of learning and enlightenment. Like ancient Athens, Boston has fostered great thinkers, artists, and leaders who have shaped the nation\u2019s history and ideals. Today, its thriving academic, literary, and artistic communities continue to make it a beacon of knowledge, creativity, and civic life.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/radiology\/colleges-in-the-boston\/\">Colleges in Boston Metropolitan Area<\/a><\/li>\n<li>There are a total of 52 institutions of higher education in the defined region, including four<span>\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Junior_college\" title=\"Junior college\">junior colleges<\/a>, 15 colleges that primarily grant<span>\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bachelor%27s_degree\" title=\"Bachelor's degree\">baccalaureate<\/a><span>\u00a0<\/span>and<span>\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Master%27s_degree\" title=\"Master's degree\">master\u2019s degrees<\/a>, eight<span>\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Research_universities\" class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Research universities\">research universities<\/a>, and 22<span>\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Special-focus_institution\" class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Special-focus institution\">special-focus institutions<\/a>. Of these, 49 are<span>\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Non-profit_organization\" class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Non-profit organization\">non-profit organizations<\/a><span>\u00a0<\/span>while three are<span>\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/For-profit_school\" class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"For-profit school\">for-profit<\/a><span>\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Business\" title=\"Business\">businesses<\/a>, and 47 are<span>\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Private_university\" title=\"Private university\">private<\/a><span>\u00a0<\/span>ventures while five are<span>\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Public_university\" title=\"Public university\">public<\/a><span>\u00a0<\/span>institutions (four are run by the<span>\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/U.S._state\" title=\"U.S. state\">state<\/a><span>\u00a0<\/span>of<span>\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Massachusetts\" title=\"Massachusetts\">Massachusetts<\/a><span>\u00a0<\/span>and one is operated by the<span>\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/City\" title=\"City\">city<\/a><span>\u00a0<\/span>of<span>\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Quincy,_Massachusetts\" title=\"Quincy, Massachusetts\">Quincy<\/a>).<\/li>\n<li>\n<h4>Abundant in Medical History<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>1846 Ether<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>William Morton, a local dentist, for the first time demonstrates the use of inhaled ether as a surgical anesthetic<br \/>\nMassachusetts General Hospital\u00a0 \u2013\u00a0 Ether Dome<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>1848 Medical School for Women<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>BU Chobanian &amp; Avedisian School of Medicine -The New England Female Medical College was founded, becoming the first institution in the U.S. to train women in medicine and graduated the first black female physician, Rebecca Lee Crumpler.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>1890: First Native American Physician<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><span>BU Chobanian &amp; Avedisian School of Medicine \u2013 The first Native American physician, Charles Eastman, graduated from BUSM. He was featured as the central figure in \u201cBury My Heart at Wounded Knee.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>1896: First X-ray presentation at a Medical Meeting<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><span>BU Chobanian &amp; Avedisian School of Medicine \u2013<\/span><span>\u00a0<\/span>First X-Rays in Boston by Francis Williams (need verification) who also became the first physician<span>\u00a0<\/span><span>\u00a0to show\u00a0<\/span><b>x<\/b><span>\u2013<\/span><b>rays<\/b><span>\u00a0at a national medical meeting in the United States.\u00a0 he reported the findings in a patient with TB\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0<strong>1897: First African-American psychiatrist<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>BU Chobanian &amp; Avedisian School of Medicine \u2013 First African-American psychiatrist, Solomon Carter Fuller, graduated from BUSM.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>1919 Infant Formula<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Similac \u2013 first infant formula developed at the Floating Hospital for Children (Tufts Medical Center).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>1938 Pediatric Cardiac Surgery<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><span>Boston Children\u2019s Hospital \u2013\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Robert Gross, MD performs the world\u2019s first successful surgical procedure to correct a congenital heart defect.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>1942: First GI Section<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>BU Chobanian &amp; Avedisian School of Medicine \u2013 First section of gastroenterology in the U.S. was established at BUSM<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>1944: First Studies in Penicillin<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>BU Chobanian &amp; Avedisian School of Medicine -First studies on the use of penicillin in civilians with infectious diseases<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>1944 Conception Outside the Human Body<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Harvard University \u2013 First conception outside the human bodyRock and menkin successfully fertilize an egg in a petri dish \u2013<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>1948: Framingham Heart Study<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>BU Chobanian &amp; Avedisian School of Medicine -First medical school to work with the U.S. Public Health Service National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to identify risk factors for cardiovascular disease, creating the Framingham Heart Study<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>1949 Polio Virus Culture<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Boston Children\u2019s Hospital Polio virus cultured in 1949 leading to the development of the vaccine by John Enders, PhD, who won the Nobel Prize in 1954. Enders\u2019 group also credited with culturing the measles virus and developing the measles vaccine.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>1954 First Organ Transplant using a Live Donor<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><span>Brigham and Women\u2019s Hospital \u2013 a team led by Joseph E. Murray, MD,\u00a0 J. Hartwell Harrison, MD and John P. Merrill, MD, accomplished the first successful organ transplant involving a live donor.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>1958 Immunosuppression.<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><span>Tufts Medical Center- Developed\u00a0 and coined the term immunosuppression. The discovery enabling\u00a0 \u00a0progress in the field of organ transplantation reducing the chances of organ rejection.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>1962 Limb Reattachment<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><span>Massachusetts General Hospital \u2013 first successful reattachment of a severed human limb, involving\u00a0 the arm of a 12-year-old boy.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>1986 First cancer gene.<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Massachusetts Eye and Ear isolate the first hereditary human cancer gene (retinoblastoma gene) providing a genetic insight of cancer<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>1980\u2019s T cell role in immune system<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Dana-Farber Cancer Institute \u2013 immune system is \u201cturned on\u201d by helper T cells and \u201cturned off\u201d by suppressor T cells with significant implications of how the immune system functions<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li><strong>2008: Green Fluorescent Protein<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>BU Chobanian &amp; Avedisian School of Medicine \u2013<span>\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bu.edu\/today\/2008\/bu-prof-wins-nobel-prize-in-chemistry\/\">Nobel Prize for Chemistry<\/a><span>\u00a0<\/span>awarded to Osamu Shimomura for his work on green fluorescent protein<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul><\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/radiology\/radiology\/unique-city\/athens-of-america\/nobel-laureates-boston\/\">List of Nobel Laureates<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>first fertilization of an ovum in a test tube\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span>first successful human-organ transplant<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Boston has long been called the &#8220;Athens of America,&#8221; a tribute to its rich intellectual and cultural legacy. The city is home to some of the world\u2019s most prestigious universities, museums, and libraries, earning its reputation as a center of learning and enlightenment. Like ancient Athens, Boston has fostered great thinkers, artists, and leaders who [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18282,"featured_media":0,"parent":99,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6665"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18282"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6665"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6665\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9423,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6665\/revisions\/9423"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/99"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}