Guido Fanconi

Fanconi was born on 1 January 1892 in Poschiavo, a small village in the Canton of Grisons.

Fanconi analyzed its epidemiology and found that the virus was not transmitted by droplet infection, as previously assumed, but rather follows a gastrointestinal pathway like typhoid fever.

His understanding of pathophysiologic connections culminated in his prediction that Down syndrome was due to a chromosomal abnormality, 20 years before trisomy 21 was discovered.

In 1945 he founded a new pediatric journal, Helvetica Paediatrica Acta, which has become an internationally renowned periodical.

Dr. Fanconi retired in 1965 from his chairmanship in pediatrics, but continued to practice and lecture until his death.