Sickle cell anemia was first described in 1910 by physician James B. Herrick, whose intern Ernest E. Irons observed the characteristic “sickle-shaped” red blood cells in a patient’s blood smear.

Early description

  • In 1910, Irons examined the blood of Walter Clement Noel, a 20‑year‑old Grenadian student, and noted “peculiar elongated and sickle-shaped” red cells.
  • Herrick then published the case, which is considered the first medical description of what became known as sickle cell disease.

Molecular discovery

  • In 1949, chemist Linus Pauling and colleagues showed that sickle cell anemia is caused by an abnormal form of hemoglobin, making it the first disease defined at the molecular level.
  • This work established sickle cell anemia as a genetic disorder due to a structural change in the hemoglobin protein.

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