on the source. various descriptors included "fungoid tumors", "fungus of the dura mater", "epithelioma", "psammoma", "dural sarcoma", "dural endothelioma", "fibrosarcoma", "angioendothelioma", "arachnoidal fibroboastoma", "endotheliosis of the meninges", "meningeal fibroblastoma", "meningoblastoma", "mesothelioma of the meninges", "sarcoma of the dura", and others. the modern term of "meningioma" was used first by harvey cushing (1869–1939) in 1922, to describe a set of tumors that occur throughout the neuraxis (brain and spinal cord), but have various commonalities. charles oberling then separated these into subtypes based on cell structure and, over the years, several other researchers have defined dozens of different subtypes as well. in 1979, the world health organization (who) classified seven subtypes, upgraded in 2000 to a classification system with nine low-grade variants (grade i tumors) and three variants each of grade ii and grade iii meningiomata. the most common subtypes are meningotheliomatous (63%), transitional or mixed-type (19%), fibrous (13%), and psammomatous (2%). the earliest evidence of a probable meningioma is from a skull approximately 365,000 years old, which was found in germany. other probable examples have been discovered in other continents around the world, including north and south america, and africa. the earliest written record of what was probably a meningioma is from the 1600s, when felix plater (1536–1614) of the university of basel performed an autopsy on sir caspar bonecurtius. surgery for removal of meningiomata was first attempted in the sixteenth century, but the first known successful surgery for removal of a meningioma of the convexity (parasagittal) was performed in 1770 by anoine luis. the first documented successful removal of a skull base meningioma was performed in 1835 by zanobi pecchioli, professor of surgery at the university of siena. other notable meningioma researchers have been william macewen (1848–1924), and william w. keen (1837–1932). improvements in meningioma research and treatment over the last century have occurred in terms of the surgical techniques for removal of the tumor, and related improvements in anesthesia, antiseptic methods, techniques to control blood loss, better ability to determine which tumors are and are not operable, and to effectively differentiate between the different meningioma subtypes. notable cases leonard wood (1860–1927), underwent successful surgery by dr. harvey cushing for a meningioma circa 1910, a major advance in neurosurgery at the time. crystal lee sutton (1940–2009), american union organizer and inspiration for the film norma rae, died of a malignant meningioma. elizabeth taylor (1932–2011), american actress, underwent surgery in february 1997 to remove a benign meningioma. kathi goertzen (1958–2012), television news anchor in seattle who underwent a very public battle with recurring tumors. she died on august 13, 2012, of complications related to her treatment. eileen ford (1922–2014), american model agency executive and co-founder of ford models. died on july 9, 2014, from complications of meningioma and osteoporosis. mary tyler moore (1936–2017), american actress, underwent surgery in may 2011 to remove a benign meningioma. jack daulton (1956–), american trial lawyer and art collector, underwent three surgeries in 2011–2012 in connection with the removal of a golf-ball-size benign meningioma over his left motor cortex; he fully recovered without disability or recurrence. simone giertz (1990–), swedish inventor and professional youtuber, underwent surgery to remove a grade i meningioma in 2018 and radiation therapy after tumor regrowth in 2019.