Samuel Pepys, who is said to have written the greatest diary in the English language, recorded many details of his life in 17th century London, including the great fire of 1666. That same year, he also wrote about the first blood transfusion. On Nov. 14, 1666, Pepys noted that Richard Lower of the Royal Society made the first direct blood transfusion from the artery of one dog to the vein of another, using quills for the tubings. Attempts to perform blood transfusions would not have been possible without the work of William Harvey, who was the first to figure out blood circulation in 1628.

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