The beginnings of neurosurgery in California during the pre-Cushing era: 1850-1900.

The end of the present millennium marks the centennial of Harvey Cushing's European study year, after the completion of his surgical residency under William Stewart Halsted at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and just before beginning his surgical practice in Baltimore, Maryland. The year 2000 marks the sesquicentennial of California's admission to the Union as the 31st state. This report documents a number of the events and achievements that occurred during this "pre-Cushing era" (1850-1900) that contributed to the ultimate development of neurological surgery in California. The historical milestones of the California gold rush, the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad across the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and the careers of early California physicians and educators, including those of Hugh Toland and Levi Cooper Lane, were instrumental in building a foundation for the modern discipline of neurosurgery in the Golden State. This foundation would serve as a cornerstone for surgeons trained by Harvey Cushing (including Howard Naffziger, Carl Rand, and Edward Towne) who would arrive in California early in the 20th century and would define the specialty of neurosurgery. The legacy left by these physicians enhances the celebration of the closure of the millennium.