John P. Merrill John P. Merrill John Putnam Merrill (March 10, 1917 – April 14, 1984) was an American physician and medical researcher. He led the team which performed the world's first successful kidney transplant. He generally credited as the "father of nephrology" or "the founder of nephrology," which is the scientific study of the kidney and its diseases. Merrill was born in 1917 in Hartford, Connecticut. After graduating from Dartmouth College in 1938, he attended the Harvard Medical School. He graduated in 1942; and he was an intern at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital. During World War II, he served for four
The six organs in the Palace of Mafra The six organs in the Palace of Mafra Since their recent restoration, the six organs in the Basilica of the Palace of Mafra have become widely known around the world. The six instruments - designed and built all at the same time, and designed to play together as well - were built by the two most important Portuguese organ builders of the time – António Xavier Machado e Cerveira and Joaquim António Peres Fontanes – and were completed between 1806 and 1807. The last two were inaugurated on 4 October 1807, and a substantial number of compositions involving all six