In July, Professor Emeritus of French John C. O'Neal presented a paper in French on occupational illnesses in 18th-century Europe, honoring the late Gabriel Richet of the French Academy of Medicine, whom he mentioned as a partner in this project.
The paper was titled "Ramazzini et Fourcroy: Le père fondateur italien de la médecine du travail et son traducteur français." Workers endured some abysmal conditions in their trades at the time, breathing in toxic fumes and smoke, subjecting themselves to strong and harmful chemicals, and having long hours of exhausting and debilitating physical activity. Using the medicine available to them in their day, Ramazzini and Fourcroy suggested ways to mitigate some of the deleterious effects of the period's working conditions.
