Understanding UV and skin cancer – timeline
This provides a timeline of events related to ultraviolet radiation from both a living world and a physical world perspective.
900 BC–500 AD – Ancient Greek and Roman women lighten their skin
Tanned skin is not seen as desirable. Unfortunately, the lead-based whitening paints often cause premature deaths (aside from skin ruptures, madness and infertility) due to lead poisoning.
Lead cosmetics, 500 BC
Lead was used in cosmetics from ancient periods through to the Renaissance. People used it to whiten their faces and later to whiten wigs. Historians think that the use of lead whiteners contributed to the death of Queen Elizabeth I.
(artefact from Kerameikos Archaeological Museum)
1500s – Tanned skin associated with the working classes
Upper class women apply copious amounts of powder on their faces. Ladies throughout Europe and America always protect their hands and faces with gloves, hats and parasols (small sun umbrellas) when outside.
1652 – Human lymphatic system described
Danish physician Thomas Bartholinus (1616–1680) publishes the first full description of the human lymphatic system – later found to be an important part of the body’s immune response to cancer and also one of the most common pathways for the spread of cancer cells to other areas of the body (metastasis).
The human lymphatic system
The lymphatic system includes tubes of various sizes, lymph nodes and areas of lymphatic tissue such as the tonsils, spleen and bone marrow.
1660s – The Malpighian layer in the skin named
Medical doctor and Italian scientist Marcello Malpighi (1628–1694) from the University of Bologna (Italy) uses the microscope to study living plant and animal tissue. He is considered to be the father of microscopic anatomy. The Malpighian layer is two epidermal layers where skin cells are continually formed by division.
Layers of the epidermis
Cross section of the epidermis showing its layers.
1665 – The term ‘cell’ is first used
Robert Hooke uses the term ‘cell’ to describe the structures he sees when looking through a compound microscope at non-living cork cells. These structures remind him of the rooms that monks live in, so he names them ‘cells’.
Discovering cells
Nobel prize winner, Sir Paul Nurse, explains how the invention of the microscope led Robert Hooke to produce the first recorded observations of cells.
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1670s – Leeuwenhoek builds superior microscopes
Antonie van eLeuwenhoek’s skill at grinding lenses enables him to build microscopes that can magnify up to 200 times, whereas most others can only magnify up to 20–30 times. He also draws single-celled organisms, which he calls ‘animalcules’ and we now call microorganisms.
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
Portrait of Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (1632–1723) by Jan Verkolje.
1787 – First metastatic melanoma surgically removed
Scottish surgeon John Hunter (1728–1793), considered one of the most distinguished scientists and surgeons of his time, describes the removal of a "cancerous fungous excrescence". In 1968, microscopic examination of the preserved tumour shows that it was a melanoma.
1801 – Ultraviolet radiation discovered
Johann Wilhelm Ritter (1776–1810) finds that the process of decomposition of silver chloride is most efficient in the presence of ‘invisible’ radiation, beyond the violet end of the spectrum. This radiation becomes known as ultraviolet radiation.
1804 – First description of melanoma as a disease
French physician René Laennec (1781–1826) presents melanoma as a disease in a lecture for the Faculté de Médecine de Paris. In 1820, general practitioner William Norris presents the same report in English.
1839 – Proposal that living things are made of cells
German scientists Theodor Schwann (physiologist) and Matthias Schleiden (botanist) carry out independent work, but talk to each other about their microscopic observations of plants and animals and come to the conclusion that all living things are made up of cells. This is the central idea of the cell theory.
Cell theory: What is it?
Nobel Laureate and former President of the Royal Society (London) Sir Paul Nurse talks about what 'cell theory' really means.
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1842 – Chromosomes observed in plant cells
Chromosomes are observed in plant cells by Swiss Scientist Karl von Nägeli (1817–1891). He is best known for his correspondence with Gregor Mendel, and that he did not recognise the significance of his discoveries about the breeding of peas.
Purple pea flower
A purple-flowering pea plant – one of the traits studied by Gregor Mendel in the 1860s.
1920s – Sun tans become fashionable
Being bronzed becomes associated with having wealth and leisure time and being able to afford to travel to warmer climates during winter months. (Some credit style icon Coco Chanel with with beginning this fashion trend.)
1930s – First commercial sunscreens become available
A paste of zinc-oxide had been used as a sunscreen for hundreds of years. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, the first commercial sunscreens became available to buy.
1931 – Spectrophotometer invented
Gordon Dobson (1889–1976) produces his spectrophotometer – a measuring device used to measure ozone from the ground. It is still the standard instrument used worldwide, with a network of over 150 instruments making daily observations.
Dobson spectrophotometer
NIWA's Dobson spectrophotometer at Lauder in Central Otago is a key ozone-measuring instrument and is part of a global network of similar instruments.
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1936 – Moh’s micrographic surgical technique developed to remove skin cancers
Dr Frederic Moh develops a precise technique for removing skin cancer layer by layer, checking each layer under a microscope as the surgeon goes. This ensures all the cancer is removed while keeping as much healthy skin as possible. It continues to be used today. Learn more about skin cancer treatment here.
1953 – Structure of DNA discovered
James Watson and Francis Crick publish the first accurate model of the DNA structure in the journal Nature, based on X-ray diffraction images taken by Rosalind Franklin. Information about DNA is also written by Maurice Wilkins (a New Zealander born in Pongaroa, North Wairarapa), and the three share the Nobel Prize in 1962.
1956 – Melanomas associated with intensity of sunlight
Australian professor Henry Lancaster discovers that melanomas are directly associated with latitude (i.e. intensity of sunlight) and that exposure to the sun is a very risk high factor in the development of the cancer. Rosalind Franklin’s work was not recognised by the Nobel Foundation.
1960s – Melanoma an ancient problem
Examination of nine Peruvian Inca mummies (dated to be approximately 2,400 years old) reveals signs of melanoma (masses on the skin and metastases to the bones), suggesting melanoma is not a new disease. In 2025, new research argues that the diagnosis of melanoma is not correct.
1970s – Sun-tanning widely popular
Advertising campaigns featuring bronzed and beautiful bodies become the norm. The social significance of having a tan is totally reversed from Egyptian times.
Sunbathers
UV radiation absorbed from the sun can cause cancer. UV radiation has been shown to cause cancers such as melanoma, an aggressive skin cancer.
1974 – CFCs linked to ozone depletion
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), first created back in 1928 as non-toxic non-flammable refrigerants, feature in a laboratory study published by Mario Molina and Sherwood Rowland that shows CFCs can break down ozone in the presence of high frequency UV light. They received a Nobel Prize in 1995. Learn more about ozone in Gaseous atmosphere.
1985 – Antarctic ozone hole discovered
British Antarctic Survey scientists Joseph Farman, Brian Gardiner and Jonathan Shanklin discover the Antarctic ozone hole and publish a paper in Nature summarising data. The paper summarises data that shows ozone levels for Antarctica had dropped to 10% below normal January levels.
1989 – Montreal Protocol becomes official
The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer is an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of a number of substances believed to be responsible for depleting ozone. It is followed by many countries.
2004 – Skin cancer rates on the rise
In New Zealand, there are 45,000–70,000 non-melanoma skin cancers, 1,896 melanoma cases and 249 deaths (152 males and 97 females) from melanoma. Find out more about skin cancer in these articles.
Skin cancer statistics in New Zealand
Dr Elizabeth Baird gives information on the risks of melanoma and other skin cancers in New Zealand compared with elsewhere.
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2014 – Immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab approved for use
The earliest immunotherapy for melanoma appeared in 1998, but the first modern immunotherapy drugs (checkpoint inhibitors) were released in 2011 – these include Keytruda (pembrolizumab). In 2016 Keytruda becomes available to New Zealand patients with melanoma that has spread, is in a more advanced stage, or is inoperable.
2016 – Mole checking via smartphone launched
New Zealand company Firstcheck creates a smartphone app through which users can take photos of a mole they are concerned about, send it to a dermatologist to review and receive feedback within 3 days.
2019 – New Zealand melanoma rates decline
In February 2019, researchers at Australia's QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, released a study showing New Zealand melanoma rates have declined and Australia's have remained steady. New Zealand skin cancer rates are still amongst the highest in the world.
2020 – Review of skin cancer scanning apps
A review of six algorithm-based AI apps that assess the risk of suspicious moles has found that they cannot be relied upon to detect all skin cancers, this research was published in The British Medical Journal (BMJ) in February 2020. Though it is agreed that the apps will get better as technology improves and artificial intelligence offers a hope for the future.
2024 – First FDA-approved cell-based therapy for melanoma
In the USA Lifileucel is approved to treat melanoma. Lifileucel is a ‘T-cell immunotherapy’, where a patient’s own T-cells that naturally migrated into the tumour are harvested, expanded in the lab, and then reintroduced to attack the cancer. It is not yet available in New Zealand.
Related content
Learn about skin cancer – including Melanoma, Basal cell carcinoma and Squamous cell carcinoma.
These related articles explain why New Zealand skin cancer rates are so high, some of the risk factors and how skin cancer is diagnosed and treated.
For more learning around UV light take a look at You, me and UV – introduction.
Activity ideas
For those interested in protection from UV, see The face of melanoma – an activity that looks at lifestyle factors that contribute to skin cancer.
To tie in sun safety with skin cancer learning take a look at the activities Investigating sunscreens, Investigating UV intensity and UV bead items.
