Landmarks of circadian research

1729 - de Mairan Experiments

First circadian experiment in constant conditions; first demonstration of a circadian rhythm by Jacques d’Ortous de Mairan in 1729.
1750 - Duhamel Du Monceau

Circadian rhythms are independent of external cycles.
1900 - De Candolle and Richter

(1900 - 1943) Circadian rhythms are endogenous and innate.
1932 - Bünning

Establishment of circadian rhythm heritability.
1948 - Pohl

Circadian rhythm is property of single cells.
1953 - International Conference of the Society for Biological Rhythms Research

Fourth International Conference of the Society for Biological Rhythms Research (Internationale Gesellschaft für Biologische Rhythmusforschung) Basel, 1953.
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1954 - Pittendrigh

The period of the circadian clock is temperature compensated.
1957 - Pittendrigh

A special collection of papers authored by Colin Pittendrigh.
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1958 - Discovery of melatonin
Melatonin was discovered by Aaron Lerner.

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1960 - Coldspring Spring Harbor Meeting
The first Coldspring Harbor Symposium on biological clocks.
1962 - Aschoff and Wever
Discovery of the human circadian clock in temporal isolation.
1963 - The Aschoff Collection
A special collection of papers authored by Jürgen Aschoff.

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1963 - The Wever Collection
A special collection of papers authored by Rütger Wever.

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1967 - Aschoff and Wever
Different circadian rhythms ca run independently in humans (internal desynchronization).
1971 - Konopka and Benzer
(1971-1973) Discovery of first clock mutants in Flies.
1971 - Clock mutants in fungi
(1971-1973) Discovery of first clock mutants in fungi.
1972 - Moore et al., Stephan et al.
Anatomical description of circadian pacemaker centres in the mammalian suprachiasmatic nuclei.
1976 - Andechs Meeting
(1976-1980) Meeting on Human Circadian Rhythms organised by Jürgen Aschoff in Schloss Erling-Andechs, Max Planck Institut für Verhaltensphysiologie.

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1976 - Pittendrigh and Daan
(1976-1980) Comprehensive description of circadian formalisms.
1979 - Zimmerman and Menaker
First pacemaker Transplants (Pineal Gland).
1980 - Ringberg Castle Meeting
Meeting at Ringberg Castle organised by Jürgen Aschoff.

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1986 - Prokaryotic Clock
Circadian clock identified in a prokaryote.
1990 - Negative feedback hypothesis
Negative feedback machanism proposed as the molecular mechanism that generates circadian rhythmicity.
1990-1993 - Multiple landmarks
Circadian rhythms is the periphery.
Expansion of known clock genes.
Non-visual light reception shown followed by melanopsin identification.
First clock gene is identified in Arabidopsis Thaliana
1991 - Aschoff's Rule
A short history of Aschoff's Rule.

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1993 -
Circadian clocks found at the level of single pacemaker cells. Internal desynchronization of two rhythms in one cell.
1994 - CLOCK mouse mutant
Mamalian clock mouse mutant is created. Molecular mechanisms of light resetting described.
2001 - Cyclic transcriptome
(2001-2002) Publication of cyclic transcriptome.
2005 - Circadian rhythm in a tube
Reconstruction of Cyanobacteria circadian rhythm in a tube.
2008 - Naila Ramji's thesis
Probing Biology's Fourth Dimension: Chronobiology in America, 1960-2007.

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2009 - Bjorn Lemmer's human chronohistory review
Lemmer collection of ancient medical texts.

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2010 - Chronohistory review papers
Serge Daan publishes history of chronobiological concepts and how rhythms entered sleep research.

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2010 - Martin Zatz, Editor
Journal of Biological Rhythms: the complete editorials and letters.

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