Mrs. Papanicolaou

Most women in the developed world will be familiar with the concept of a pap smear.  A pap smear involves an examination every few years of a women's cervix where cells are wiped and smeared onto a slide.  These are then examined for early signs of cancer.  Developed in 1923 it is the most successful screening test for cancer in history, dropping death rates by 80% in those countries with population wide screening programs.

The test was invented by a Greek physiologist named Georgios Papanicolaou. He was born on the island of Evia on the 13th May 1883.  He attended the University of Munich and achieved his PhD in zoology in 1910.   He then eloped with the woman he would spend the next 47 years of his life with, Andromache Mavroyeni, who went by Mary.  The two returned to Greece in 1912, where Georgios served in the Balkan Wars.  Following this, he and Mary immigrated to New York City in 1912.

Although initially playing violin in restaurants to pay the bills, Georgios quickly found work at Cornell Medical College slowly rising up the ranks.  It was here that he made the observation that eventually led to the pap smear.