Emergence of quantification in clinical investigation and the quest for certainty in therapeutics: The road from Hammurabi to Kefauver

The road from Hammurabi (ca. 1792–1750 B.C.) to Kefauver (1903–1963). The background depicts part of the basalt stele of the Code of Hammurabi. The relief at the top shows the sun god, Shamash, telling the king to bring order and justice to the land. The cuneiform text at the bottom is the preamble to the 238 articles of the code, including those on compensation for a cure and punishment for a poor outcome. The superimposed text in white is the 1961 icon of the Kefauver-Hart bill proposing congressional amendments to the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938 on the scientific evidence required for a drug to be approved for human use.