- Jean Etienne Dominique Esquirol first described in 1838 a child who presumably had Down syndrome in Des maladies mentales considérées sous les rapports médical, hygiénique et médico-légal. Paris: J.B. Baillière.
- Édouard Séguin described in 1846 a child with features suggestive of Down syndrome, a condition he called "furfuraceous idiocy" in Le traitement moral, l'hygiene et l'education des idiots. Paris: Bailliere. [See also Séguin, E. (1866) Idiocy and its treatment by the physiological method. New York: William Wood and Co., where he gave a precise description of the essential syndrome features.]
- P.M. Duncan noted in 1866 a girl "with a small round head, Chinese looking eyes, projecting a large tongue who only knew a few words" in A manual for the classification, training and education of the feeble-minded, imbecile and idiotic. London: Longmans, Green & Co.
- John Langdon H. Down (1828-1896), an Edinburgh physician, published in 1866 the first clinical description of individuals with Down syndrome that bears his name in the landmark paper, Observations on ethnic classifications of idiots. Clinical Lectures and Reports by the Medical and Surgical Staff of the London Hospital, 3:259-262. [See also Down, J.L.H. (1867) Observations on the ethnic classifications of idiots. Journal of Mental Science, 13, 121-3.]
- John Fraser and Arthur Mitchell gave the first scientific report on Down syndrome at the Medico-Psychological Association, with the observations on 62 individuals, held at the Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh in 1875 and subsequently published in 1876 as Kalmuc idiocy: Report of a case with autopsy. With notes on sixty-two cases in the Journal of Mental Science, 22(98), 169-179.
- In 1877, William W. Ireland included the mongoloid as a special type in his book, Idiocy and Imbecility, London.
- P.J. de Waardenburg, a Dutch ophthalmologist, infers in 1932 that mongolism may be the result of a chromosomal deficiency brought about by "non-disjunction" or by "chromosomal duplication." in Das menschliche Auge und seine Erbanlagen. Bibliog. Genet, 7.
- Adrian Bleyer suggested in 1934 the possibility of a chromosomal trisomy causing the syndrome in Indications that mongoloid imbecility is a gametic mutation of the degenerative type. Am J Dis Child, 47:342.
- Penrose (1939) concluded that "mongolism and some other malformations may have their origins in chromosome abnormalities." Maternal age, order of birth and developmental abnormalities. J Ment Sci, 85:1141-1150.
- Benjamin Spock suggests in Baby and Child Care (1946) that babies born mongoloid should immediately be institutionalized based on the premise that "If (the infant) merely exists at a level that is hardly human, it is much better for the other children and the parents to have him cared for elsewhere" (p. 478).
- Jérôme Jean Louis Marie Lejeune, Marthe Gautier & M. Raymond Turpin describe in Les chromosomes humains en culture de tissus. Comptes Rendues de l'Académie des Sciences, 248, 602-3, Jan. 26, 1959, a tissue culture study of 3 mongoloids, discovering 47 chromosomes in the karyotypes. In the same year they verified their first observations with a study of nine more cases in Étude des chromosomes somatiques de neuf enfants mongoliens. Comptes Rendues de l'Académie des Sciences, 248:1721-1722. [See also Lejeune, J., Turpin, R. & Gautier, M. (Jul 1959). Le mongolisme. Premier example d'aberration autosomique humaine. Annales de Génétique, 1(2), 41-9.]
- In 1959 Patricia A. Jacobs et al. proved the same in England almost simultaneously with Lejeune in The somatic chromosomes in mongolism. Lancet, 1:710 and confirmed by Ford, et al. The chromosome in a patient showing both mongolism and the Kline-felter syndrome. Lancet, 1:709-710.
- P.E. Polani et al. discovered in 1960 that some persons with Down syndrome have translocations in A mongol girl with 46 chromosomes. Lancet, 1:121.
- C.M. Clarke et al. in 1961 described the first patients with mosaicism in 21 trisomy/normal mosaicism in an intelligent child with mongoloid characteristics. Lancet, i:1028-30.
- The National Association for Down Syndrome (originally incorporated as the Mongoloid Development Council), the oldest Down syndrome parent organization in the United States, was founded in 1961 by Kathryn McGee, whose daughter Tricia had Down syndrome.
- The proposal to replace the misleading term mongolism, which implies a racial aspect of the condition, was made in a joint letter, Allen, G., Benda C.E., Böök, J.A. et al "Mongolism." Lancet. 1961;i:775 and endorsed by the World Health Organization in 1965.
- In 1964 the journal, Yesterday Was Tuesday, All Day and All Night: The Story of a Unique Education was published.
- In 1967 The World of Nigel Hunt, the Diary of a Mongoloid Youth was published.
- The theologian Joseph Fletcher attempting to comfort a bereaved parent, concludes in 1968 that there is "no reason to feel guilty about putting a Down's syndrome baby away, whether it's 'put away' in the sense of hidden in a sanitarium or in a more responsible lethal sense. It is sad, yes. Dreadful. But it carries no guilt. True guilt arises only from an offense against a person, and a Down's is not a person." Bard, B., & Fletcher, J., The right to die. Atlantic Monthly, 3 (April), 59-64.
- Down syndrome detected in primates (Pan troglodytes) by Harold M. McClure, et al. Autosomal Trisomy in a Chimpanzee: Resemblance to Down's Syndrome (Science 1969 Sep 165 (3897): 1010-1011). The infant chimpanzee showed retarded growth rate, congenital abnormalities, retarded neurologic and postural development, epicanthus, hyperflexibility of the joints and muscle hypotonia.
- Encyclopædia Britannica lists for the last time in 1970 the condition of Down syndrome under the heading, "Monster."
- A 25-minute documentary, entitled Who Shall Survive, where a newborn infant with Down syndrome and duodenal atresia was placed in the ward's back room at John Hopkins University Hospital, and was slowly starved to death in 15 days, was shown in 1971, at the Eisenhower Theater in the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, D.C. The doctor in charge of the case states that in the previous five years at Johns Hopkins, at least four babies with Down syndrome have died after parents refused consent for surgery. The panel discussion followed by the re-dramatization of the event challenged the exclusive right of the parents to decide, arguing the either foster care or adoption of the infant were alternatives.
- The U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania ruled that every child, regardless of mental ability, has right to a free, appropriate public program of education, and that placement in a regular public school class is preferable to placement in a special public school class in the landmark 1972 case of Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children (PARC) v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Civil Action No. 71-42 which opens regular education programs to children with Down syndrome. Advocates cited this decision during public hearings that led to the passage of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975
- The Down's Syndrome Congress (now the National Down Syndrome Congress) is formed in 1973.
- In 1974 Nebuhr suggested that the "Down syndrome phenotype" might be caused by the duplication of only a part of chromosome 21 band q22, which itself, represents about one half of the long arm. Cited from Korenberg JR., Pulst SM., Gerwehrs. Advances in the understanding of chromosome 21 and Down Syndrome. In: Lott I, McCoy E, editors. Down syndrome: Advances in medical care. New York: Wiley-Liss; 1992. p. 3-12.
- Public Law 94-142, formally known as the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, passed by Congress in 1975, requires local school districts to provide "to the maximum extent possible" a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) to all children, regardless of disability, in the least restrictive environment (LRE) practical, but also mandated the writing of educational objectives and the right to due process hearings.
- R. Restak stated in 1975 "You show me just one mongoloid that has an educable IQ.... I've never seen even one [who is educable] in my experience with over 800 mongols." Genetic counseling for defective parents: The danger of knowing too much. Psychology Today, 9(21), 92-3.
- The National Down Syndrome Society established in 1979.
- March 31, 1980. The United States Supreme Court refuses to hear appeal on behalf of Phillip Becker, a 13-year-old from San Jose, CA with Down syndrome, institutionalized from birth, whose parents refuse consent for heart surgery disputing that Phillip would forever be a burden. On September 23, 1983, Phillip finally receives heart surgery after a protracted court battle. Legal custody is given to the Heaths, volunteers who have loved and cared for him as their own. [See: The Case of Phillip Becker.]
- Dr. Leonard Arthur, a senior consultant pediatrician at the Derbyshire City Hospital, gave "nursing care only" instructions for John Pearson, born June 28, 1980 and described as "a new-born mongol baby" at the subsequent trial. Dr. Arthur was acquitted of the charge of murder on November 5, 1981 at the Leicester Crown Court on the grounds that he had merely let nature take its course. John lived 60 days. A huge outcry ensued, and a case the same year, which went to the Court of Appeal, regarding baby Alexandra came to a very different conclusion: the Court authorized surgery, against the parents' and their doctors' wishes, and Alexandra lived. URL: http://www.eugenics-watch.com/briteugen/eug_a.html#arthur. [See: Eradicating Handicap.]
- "Baby Doe" case, where an infant born April 9, 1982 in Bloomington with Down syndrome and esophageal atresia was allowed to die by attending physicians in accordance with parents wishes. On April 12, Judge John G. Baker of the Monroe County Circuit Court held that the parents "... have the right to choose a medically recommended course of treatment for their child in the present circumstances." The State of Indiana Supreme Court upholds the parents' right to make this decision stating that a starvation death was legal: Baby Doe was placed in an isolation room where he died without treatment or nourishment on April 16, 1982, seven days after his birth, with willing couples to adopt on hand and an appeal to the United States Supreme Court being pursued. Dr. Walter Owens, the physician in attendance during the death of this child, testified: " I insisted upon telling the parents that this still would not be a normal child ... that they did have another alternative, which was to do nothing. In which case, the child [would] probably live only a matter of several days ... some of these children [born with Down's Syndrome] are mere blobs" [Obstetrician Walter Owens. Transcript of April 13, 1982, No. JU-8204-038A (Circuit Court of Monroe County, Indiana)]. President Reagan threatened to withdraw federal funds from any hospital that ever did anything like that again. Leads to a new application of §504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1983, establishing the right of newborn children with disabilities to customary medical care. [See: The Killing Will Not Stop.]
- The Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 254, designated October as National Down Syndrome Month and President Ronald Reagan issued proclamation 5252 in observance of this month on October 9, 1984 [See: http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1984/100984a.htm
- Madeleine C. Will, Assistant Secretary for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, and mother of a child with Down syndrome, addressed the Wingspread Conference in Racine, WI, in December of 1985. Her speech Educating Children with Learning Problems: A Shared Responsibility, reprinted in Exceptional Children 52:5, 411-6 (1986), proposed the Regular Education Initiative (REI) which launched a movement toward inclusion of students with disabilities, in place of pull-out programs.
- Chris Burke stars as Corky Thatcher in ABC's hit 1989 television series Life Goes On, about a family with a teenager with Down syndrome.
- The Wisconsin Regional Primate Research Center reported the first known case of a rhesus monkey with Down syndrome, born to a 21-year-old mother (quite elderly for this species). Down syndrome has been diagnosed already in chimpanzees and gorillas, but never before in a monkey. New Scientist 1688 (1989 Oct 28).
- Before the Senate Labor Committee on May 23, 1990, Arkansas State Health Director, Dr. M. Joycelyn Elders, prior to being named Bill Clinton's Surgeon General, said, "abortion has reduced the number of children afflicted with severe defects. The number of Down syndrome infants in Washington state in 1976 was 64 percent lower than it would have been without legal abortion."
- On May 28, 1993, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upheld the right of children with disabilities to be included in regular classes with non-disabled children in the case of Rafael Oberti v. Board of Education of Clementon, NJ, affirming a federal district court ruling that eight year old Rafael Oberti, a child with Down syndrome, be provided an inclusive education in regular class in his home school. U.S. Circuit Court Judge Edward R. Becker, wrote, "We construe the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), P.L. 101476, mainstream requirement to prohibit a school from placing a child with disabilities outside of a regular classroom if educating the child in the regular classroom, with supplementary aids and support services, can be achieved satisfactorily. In addition, if placement outside of a regular classroom is necessary for the child to receive educational benefit, the school may still be violating IDEA if it has not made sufficient efforts to include the child in school programs with non- disabled children whenever possible."
- Jane Sanders, a nurse, was told that her blood tests were "normal," but actually showed a 1-in-189 chance of having a baby with Down syndrome. Mrs. Sanders and her husband Robert, a physician, sued Dr. Helga Sickert, for malpractice because they would have "probably" aborted their son Lee had they known. This 1994 high profile Winnepeg, Manitoba "wrongful birth" suit was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum. Winnipeg Free Press, September 6, 1994 & Vancouver Sun, September 8, 1994: A6.
- Vice President Al Gore in Virginia on October 28, 1994 attacks Oliver North's Senate bid: "And he is banking on the fact that he can raise enough money from the extreme right wing, the extra chromosome right wing, to come in and buy enough advertising to just overwhelm the truth with blatant falsehoods." Quoted in The Washington Times, Sep. 4, 1997. Many consider it an insult toward those with Down syndrome and Gore sent out a letter apologizing for his embarrassing 'extra chromosome' jibe at Oliver North supporters, saying he had 'learned an important lession [sic].' National Review, Dec. 31, 1994.
- Michael Bérubé publishes "Life as we know it: A father, a family, and an exceptional child" in Harper's Magazine, 289, December 1994, pp. 41-51.
- Sandra Jensen, 36, is initially rejected for a heart-lung transplant by the Stanford University School of Medicine because doctors thought she could not follow directions for follow-up care and medications. After pressure from disability rights activists, administrators reverse their decision, and, in January 1996, Jensen becomes the first person with Down syndrome to receive a heart-lung transplant. Her case led to the passage of a California bill prohibiting discrimination against people with disabilities who need transplants. Jensen died 16 months after succumbing to lymphoma.
- Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Ammendments (IDEA) of 1997, Part C, mandated funding for early intervention services for children under age 3.
- Extremely pessimistic views on the academic attainment in children with Down syndrome are found in a widely available medical reference book: "It has been estimated that 6% of Down's children are probably capable of profiting appreciably from attendance at schools for the educationally handicapped. Practically all who survive to school age gain some benefit. Most eventually acquire some degree of speech, and about 5% learn to read. They practically never learn to write." Macpherson, G. (1999). Black's Medical Dictionary (39th ed.). London: A. & C. Black.
- The chromosome 21 mapping and sequencing consortium publishes the DNA sequence of human chromosome 21 in Nature, May 18, 2000, Vol. 405, 311-9.
- On June 19, 2001, U. S. District Court Chief Judge David Ezra ruled on Stephen L., et al. v. LeMahieu, et al. that the State of Hawaii is liable to Aaron L., a 19 year old student with Down syndrome from Molokai, Maui, for conduct labeled as "deliberate indifference." The suit was brought by the student under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which act forbids the State of Hawaii from discriminating in the provision of education to disabled children. In his decision, Judge Ezra noted the history of the State of Hawaii in inadequately funding special education in Hawaii. He concluded by stating: "state defendants cannot excuse a knowing failure to provide these services because of a lack of funds commitment from the state legislature. In sum, deliberate indifference by the state government cannot provide an excuse for another arm of state government, the DOE, from meeting its knowing legal obligation to special needs children." [See: http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/edo/documents/lemahieubr.pdf]
- British Columbia Supreme Court Justice Michaeal Catliff ordered Dr. Ken Kan of Richmond to pay $325,000 to two separated parents because he "failed" to diagnose that the unborn child had Down's Syndrome so that they could abort the baby. Lui-Ling "Lydia" Zhang, the mother, 42, says that the 1997 birth of her daughter, Sherry, "totally disrupted our plans," and that her one-month-old marriage to Simon Fung collapsed as a result. It is only the second such ruling in Canada. Inclusion Daily Express, January 31, 2003.