• ​Although hemophilia was first named in 1828, this rare sex-linked disorder is popularly known because of Queen Victoria, who reigned from 1837 to 1901 and was a carrier of the disease.
• It became known as the “Royal disease” as it quickly spread throughout the royal families of Europe (see the pedigree below)(Herreid, and Aronova-Tiuntseva).

History

Hemophilia, also known as haemophilia in the UK, is a congenital bleeding disorder characterized by an inability to properly form blood clots. Hem- or Hemo- is rooted in the latin prefixes, haem- and haemo-; meaning blood. The suffix -philia means “tendency toward” and is derived from  the Greek word philia, meaning friendship or affection. Together Hemo-philia can be loosely translated to 'the love of blood'. 

• ​​​​The characteristics of hemophilia were first identified by Jewish rabbis as evident by the Talmud. The Talmud, a collection of Jewish Rabbinical writings from the 2nd century AD, stated that male babies did not have to be circumcised if two brothers had already died from the procedure. The deaths of the babies were most likely caused by prolonged and uncontrolled bleeding, a common problem with hemophiliacs. 
• In 1803, Dr. John Conrad Otto, a physician, wrote the first medical description of hemophilia noting the sex-linked inheritance of the disease as well as the occurrence of premature death (Lee).
• The word hemophilia was first used by Hopff at the University of Zurich in 1828 in a description of the condition (Canadians).