Louise Brown, the First IVF Baby, Is Born
- Date
- 1978
- Category
- Science, technology & invention
- Region
- Europe (United Kingdom)
- Era
- Contemporary
- Significance
Louise Joy Brown was born on 25 July 1978 at Oldham General Hospital in England, the first human conceived through in vitro fertilisation and a landmark in reproductive medicine.
Developed by gynecologist Patrick Steptoe, physiologist Robert Edwards, and nurse-embryologist Jean Purdy, the technique fertilised an egg outside the body—in a laboratory dish, not the "test tube" of popular headlines—and implanted the embryo, overcoming the blocked fallopian tubes that had prevented her parents from conceiving for nine years. The birth proved that human conception could occur outside the womb, opening a path to parenthood for millions of people facing infertility. IVF also sparked enduring ethical, religious, and legal debates over embryos, genetics, and the boundaries of assisted reproduction. Edwards received the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the work. In the decades since, more than ten million babies have been born through IVF worldwide, making it one of the most consequential medical advances of the twentieth century.
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Empires active in 1978
- Soviet Union1922 CE – 1991 CE
- British Empire1583 CE – 1997 CE
- Portuguese Empire1415 CE – 1999 CE
- Yugoslavia1918 CE – 1992 CE
Related science, technology & invention events
- The First CT Scan Lets Doctors See Inside a Living Body1971
- The Apple II Launches the Personal Computer Era1977
- Global eradication of smallpox declared8 May 1980 (last natural case 1977)
- Intel Releases the 4004, the First Commercial Microprocessor1971
- Apollo 11 Moon landing20 July 1969 (mission 16–24 July 1969)
- Green Revolution Transforms South Asian Agriculturec. 1966 (peak adoption mid-1960s onward)
Further reading
The wider story
A Little History of Science
Warm, jargon-free tour of discovery from Babylonian stargazers to the genome.
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