PHYSICIAN

Georgios Papanikolaou

1883 - 1962

Photo of Georgios Papanikolaou

Icon of person Georgios Papanikolaou

Georgios Nikolaou Papanikolaou (or George Papanicolaou ; Greek: Γεώργιος Ν. Παπανικολάου [papanikoˈlau]; 13 May 1883 – 19 February 1962) was a Greek physician, zoologist and microscopist who was a pioneer in cytopathology and early cancer detection, and inventor of the pap smear for detection of cervical cancer. After studying medicine in Greece and Germany, he emigrated in 1913 to the United States and was faculty at Cornell Medical College. He first reported that uterine cancer cells could be detected in vaginal smears in 1928, but his work was not widely recognized until the 1940s. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Georgios Papanikolaou has received more than 874,573 page views. His biography is available in 39 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 37 in 2019). Georgios Papanikolaou is the 165th most popular physician (down from 143rd in 2019), the 257th most popular biography from Greece (down from 224th in 2019) and the 4th most popular Greek Physician.

Georgios Papanikolaou is most famous for his invention of the Pap smear, a screening test for cervical cancer.

Memorability Metrics

  • 870k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 61.00

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 39

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 7.06

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 2.98

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among PHYSICIANS

Among physicians, Georgios Papanikolaou ranks 165 out of 726. Before him are Charles Brenton Huggins, John Langdon Down, George Whipple, Rolf M. Zinkernagel, Agnodice, and Robin Cook. After him are Jean Marc Gaspard Itard, Andrea Cesalpino, Engelbert Kaempfer, Georges Gilles de la Tourette, Aretaeus of Cappadocia, and Charaka.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1883, Georgios Papanikolaou ranks 46. Before him are Ivan Meštrović, Döme Sztójay, Alexander Vasilyevich Alexandrov, Marie Laurencin, Joseph Pilates, and Gino Severini. After him are Gottfried Feder, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Max Linder, Adolph Joffe, Alexandros Papagos, and Ida Rubinstein. Among people deceased in 1962, Georgios Papanikolaou ranks 38. Before him are Ivan Meštrović, Jacques Ibert, C. Wright Mills, Stuart Sutcliffe, Hanns Eisler, and Archduke Joseph August of Austria. After him are Killing of Peter Fechter, Eiji Yoshikawa, Dušan Simović, André Lhote, Aleksei Antonov, and Princess Helen of Serbia.

Others Born in 1883

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Others Deceased in 1962

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In Greece

Among people born in Greece, Georgios Papanikolaou ranks 257 out of 1,024. Before him are Hipparchus (-600), Antonia the Elder (-39), Matthew Kantakouzenos (1325), Agnodice (-400), Kyriakos Mitsotakis (1968), and Philopoemen (-253). After him are Jean Moréas (1856), Alcamenes (-500), Agathon (-448), Conon of Samos (-280), Andocides (-440), and Cynisca (-430).

Others born in Greece

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Among PHYSICIANS In Greece

Among physicians born in Greece, Georgios Papanikolaou ranks 4. Before him are Hippocrates (-460), Erasistratus (-303), and Agnodice (-400). After him are Paul of Aegina (625), Podalirius (null), and Diocles of Carystus (-400).

Greek born Physicians

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