July 25, 1978: The 1st "Test-Tube Baby"

Louise Brown: Left, 1978; right, 2024

July 25, 1978: Louise Joy Brown is born at General Hospital (now the Royal Oldham Hospital) in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. She weighed 5 pounds, 12 ounces, and was delivered by Caesarean section, by obstetrician John Webster. She was the 1st person conceived via in vitro fertilization (IVF).

Brown's parents, Lesley and John Brown, had been trying to conceive naturally for nine years but Lesley faced complications from blocked Fallopian tubes. On November 10, 1977, Lesley underwent the procedure that later became known as in vitro fertilization (IVF), developed by Patrick Steptoe, Robert Edwards and Jean Purdy.

Although the conception happened in a petri dish, the term "test tube baby" was also born that day. Shortly thereafter, the American game show Match Game had the following clue: "That girl must have been a test tube baby. I can tell because she has glass (blanks)."

Four years later, Louise's sister, Natalie Brown, was born, through the same process.

Jean Purdy developed melanoma, and died in 1985, only 39 years old. Patrick Steptoe was awarded a CBE, and died in 1988. Robert Edwards was knighted, and died in 2013. As of July 25, 2022, John Webster is still alive.

In 1999, just 17 years old, Natalie became the first IVF-born female to have a baby of her own. She now has 4 children. Louise, now 40, is married with 2 children of her own. John Brown lived until 2006, and Lesley Brown until 2012, but both lived to see each of their daughters have at least 1 child. All 6 Brown grandchildren were conceived the old-fashioned way.

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July 25, 1978 was a Tuesday. These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Kansas City Royals, 4-0 at Royals Stadium (later Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. Ron Guidry pitched a 6-hit shutout, with no walks and 8 strikeouts, advancing to 15-1 on the season. He outpitched Paul Splittorff, like Guidry a lefthander, and one who had been having success against the Yankees. Reggie Jackson did not play. George Brett went 2-for-4.

This was the 1st game Bob Lemon managed for the Yankees, after Billy Martin resigned one step ahead of George Steinbrenner's law, and Dick Howser served as interim manager for a game before Lemon could get to Kansas City. This also turned out to be the 3rd straight season in which the Yankees beat the Royals in the American League Championship Series.

* The New York Mets beat the Cincinnati Reds, 9-2 at Shea Stadium. Craig Swan went the distance for the win. He led the National League in earned run average that season, with 2.43. He was about the only good thing to happen to the Mets that season, as they were so weak at the plate, he only went 9-6.

Lenny Randle went 3-for-4 with 2 RBIs. Pete Rose went 3-for-4. Johnny Bench did not play.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-0 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Tommy Brown pitched a 4-hit shutout. Mike Schmidt went 1-for-3 with a walk.

* The Seattle Mariners beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-2 at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the California Angels, 5-1 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Oakland Athletics, 11-2 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 4-2 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Robin Yount went 1-for-4. Rookie Paul Molitor went 1-for-5.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Boston Red Sox, 5-2 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Rod Carew went 1-for-1... with 4 walks. Carl Yastrzemski went 0-for-4.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Texas Rangers, 7-6 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Eddie Murray went 0-for-5.

* The Houston Astros beat the Montreal Expos, 3-2 at the Astrodome in Houston. Art Howe singled Rafael Landestoy home with the winning run in the bottom of the 13th inning.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 2-1 at San Diego Stadium (later Jack Murphy Stadium and Qualcomm Stadium). Dave Winfield had both of the Padres' RBIs, including a solo home run. Willie Stargell went 0-for-1, then left the game with an injury.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs, 3-1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* And the San Francisco Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 3-2 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.