The Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children admitted its first patient on this date in 1852. Two-year-old George Parr, suffering from catarrh (an inflammation of the nose and throat) and diarrhea, was the first to be hospitalized at the 10-bed facility. Shocked at the lack of quality care for children in Great Britain’s capital, physician Charles West began the Great Ormond Street Hospital after raising enough money to start it. Over the years, patrons included Queen Victoria, Charles Dickens and the author J.M. Barrie, who donated copyright proceeds from his “Peter Pan” to the cause. The Great Ormond Street Hospital thrives today and treats more than 100,000 children each year.

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