Chronology of Events (by year) - Historical Data

NIH Chronology of Events

1798--The Marine Hospital Service was established with the July 16 signing by President John Adams of an act for the relief of sick and disabled seamen.
1799--An amending act of March 2 extended benefits of the Marine Hospital Service to officers and men of the U.S. Navy.
1802--The admission of foreign seamen to Marine hospitals on a reimbursable basis was authorized on May 3.
1803--The first permanent Marine hospital was authorized on May 3 to be built in Boston, Mass.
1807--Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse was appointed physician in charge of the Boston Marine Hospital on November 27. He was the first to introduce interns and residents into hospitals in the United States.
1836--The Library of the Office of the Surgeon General of the Army was established (the present National Library of Medicine).
1865--John Shaw Billings, M.D., was assigned to supervise the Surgeon General's Library, which he built into a national resource of biomedical literature.
1870--A bill dated June 29 provided for administration of Marine hospitals within a Bureau of the Treasury Department with a medical officer in charge.
1871--Dr. John Maynard Woodworth was appointed supervising surgeon of the Marine Hospital Service in April, marking the beginning of central control of Marine hospitals.
1873--Regulations were approved on December 1 for appointment and promotion of physicians in the Marine Hospital Service, establishing the first career service for civilian employees in the Federal Government.
1875--A bill passed on March 3 authorized admission of Navy seamen and seamen of other government services to Marine hospitals on a reimbursable basis.
In recognition of Dr. Woodworth's progress in reorganizing the Marine Hospital Service, his title was changed by law to supervising Surgeon General on March 3.
1878--The first Federal Quarantine Act was passed April 29.
On December 21, Congress appropriated funds "for investigating the origin and causes of epidemic diseases, especially yellow fever and cholera."

1879--The National Board of Health was created by law on March 3. It represented the first organized, comprehensive, national medical research effort of the Federal Government.
Dr. John B. Hamilton was appointed Surgeon General of the Marine Hospital Service, April 3.
1884--The seamen's hospital tax was abol-ished on July 1. The cost of maintaining Marine hospitals was paid out of a tonnage tax, which continued until 1906.
1887--A bacteriological laboratory, known as the Laboratory of Hygiene, was established under Dr. Joseph J. Kinyoun at the Marine Hospital, Staten Island, N.Y., in August, for research on cholera and other infectious diseases (renamed Hygienic Laboratory in 1891.)
1889--The commissioned corps was authorized on January 4 establishing by law the policy of a mobile corps subject to duty anywhere upon assignment.
1890--Congress gave the Marine Hospital Service interstate quarantine authority on March 27.
1891--The Hygienic Laboratory moved from Staten Island, N.Y., to the Butler Building, Service Headquarters, Washington, D.C., in June.
Dr. Walter Wyman was appointed Surgeon General of the Marine Hospital Service on June 1.
1893--A new Quarantine Act, passed February 15, strengthened the Quarantine Act of 1878 and repealed the act establishing the National Board of Health.
1899--The Marine Hospital Service was directed by Congress on March 2 to investigate leprosy in the United States.
Dr. Milton J. Rosenau succeeded Dr. Kinyoun as director of the Hygienic Laboratory on May 1.
1902--The earliest studies of Rocky Mountain spotted fever took place in Montana.
A bill approved July 1 changed the name of the Marine Hospital Service to the Public Health and Marine Hospital Service and established an advisory board for the Hygienic Laboratory. It later became the National Advisory Health Council.
The 57th Congress enacted Public Law 244 to regulate the shipment of biologics. The technical responsibilities of the program were assigned to the Hygienic Laboratory.
The Advisory Board for the Biologics Control Division was established July 1.
The Pan American Sanitary Bureau was established December 2. The Public Health and Marine Hospital Service began international health cooperation.
1904--The Hygienic Laboratory moved to a new building on a 5-acre tract at 25th and E Streets NW, Washington, D.C., on March 16.
1906--Medical care for merchant seamen and other beneficiaries of the Public Health and Marine Hospital Service began to be supported by direct congressional appropriations, with the repeal of the tonnage tax on June 30.
1909--Dr. John F. Anderson was appointed director of the Hygienic Laboratory, October 1.
1912--Dr. Rupert Blue was appointed Surgeon General of the Public Health and Marine Hospital Service on January 13.
The name Public Health and Marine Hospital Service was changed to Public Health Service (PHS) on August 14, and the research program was expanded to include other-than-communicable diseases field investigations, navigable stream pollution, and information dissemination.
1914--Dr. Joseph Goldberger announced his views of pellagra as a dietary deficiency, emphasizing the importance of dietary deficiency diseases.
1915--Dr. George W. McCoy was appointed Hygienic Laboratory director on Nov.20.
1918--The Chamberlain-Kahn Act, passed July 9, provided for the study of venereal diseases. The PHS made grants to 25 institutions, establishing a precedent for the Federal Government to seek assistance of scientists through grants.
The PHS reserve corps was established by law on October 27, during the influenza pandemic, as a means of coping with the emergencies.
1920--Dr. Hugh Smith Cumming was appointed PHS Surgeon General on Mar.3.
1921--The Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever Laboratory was established in a former school building in Hamilton, Mont., on September 20 as a recognized PHS field station.
1922--The Library of the Office of the Surgeon General (Army) was renamed the Army Medical Library in January.
A Special Cancer Investigations Laboratory was established by PHS investigators at Harvard Medical School on August 1.
1929--On January 19, the Narcotics Control Act was passed, authorizing construction of two hospitals for drug addicts, and creation of a PHS Narcotics Division.
1930--On April 9, the Advisory Board for the Hygienic Laboratory became the National Advisory Health Council.
On May 26 the Ransdell Act redesignated the Hygienic Laboratory as the National Institute of Health, authorizing $750,000 for construction of two buildings for NIH, and creating a system of fellowships.
On June 14, Public Law 357 authorized creation of a separate Bureau of Narcotics in the Treasury Department and changed the PHS Narcotics Division to the Division of Mental Hygiene. The law gave the Surgeon General authority to investigate the causes, treatment, and prevention of mental and nervous diseases.
1935--A narcotic "farm" at Lexington, Ky., was completed and opened on May 29.
On August 10, Mr. and Mrs. Luke I. Wilson made a gift of 45 acres of their estate "Tree Tops" for use of the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, Md.
Title VI of the Social Security Act was passed August 14 authorizing the expenditure of up to $2 million on health grants to the states for "investigation of disease and problems of sanitation."
1936--Dr. Thomas Parran was appointed PHS Surgeon General on April 6.
1937--The Rocky Mountain Laboratory became part of the National Institute of Health in February, and was administratively made part of the Division of Infectious Diseases.
Dr. Lewis R. Thompson was appointed director of the National Institute of Health on February 1.
With the reorganization of the National Institute of Health into eight divisions, the biologics control program, previously the responsibility of the Division of Pathology and Bacteriology, NIH, was assigned to a newly established Division of Biologics Control (redesignated Biologics Control Laboratory, 1944).
The National Cancer Institute Act was signed on July 23.
1938--The National Advisory Cancer Council recommended approval of the first awards for fellowships in cancer research on January 3.
Mrs. Luke I. Wilson made a second gift of 10.7 acres, to NIH on May 28.
The cornerstone for Building 1 was laid June 30.
Congress approved construction of new, larger laboratory facilities, and NIH moved to Bethesda, Md., in July.
Mrs. Luke I. Wilson made a third gift, 14.4 acres of land, to NIH on September 30.
The narcotics hospital at Fort Worth, Tex., was dedicated on October 28.
1939--Under a Reorganization Act dated April 3, the PHS was transferred from the Treasury Department to the Federal Security Agency.
1940--Mrs. Luke I. Wilson made a fourth gift, 11.6 acres of land, to NIH on September 27.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the buildings and the grounds of the National Institute of Health on October 31.
1942--Dr. Rolla Eugene Dyer was appointed director of the National Institute of Health on February 1.
A final gift of land was made by Mrs. Luke I. Wilson on March 17 bringing the total to 92 acres. This was the nucleus of the present 306.4-acre reservation. Additional land was acquired through a series of purchases.
1943--NIH was given bureau status in the PHS on November 11.
1944--The PHS act was approved on July 1, consolidating and revising existing public health legislation, and giving NIH the legislative basis for its postwar program, with general authority to conduct research. Under this act NCI became a division of NIH.
1946--The Research Grants Office was created at NIH in January to administer the Office of Scientific Research and Development projects transferred to the PHS at the end of World War II and to operate a program of extramural research grants and fellowship awards.
The National Mental Health Act was passed July 3.
On August 12, the Research Grants Office became the Research Grants Division (later renamed Division of Research Grants). The division was instructed by the National Advisory Health Council to establish study sections for scientific and technical review of research grant applications, and to explore neglected areas of research in the health sciences.
The Hospital Survey and Construction Act, introduced by Senators Lister Hill and Harold H. Burton, was passed on August 13, authorizing the Hill-Burton program.
1948--Dr. Leonard A. Scheele was appointed PHS Surgeon General on April 6.
On June 16 the National Heart Act was signed. It authorized the National Heart Institute and changed the name of the National Institute of Health to National Institutes of Health.
The National Dental Research Act, passed June 24, authorized the National Institute of Dental Research.
The National Heart Institute was established August 1.
The National Institute of Dental Research was established September 16.
Construction of the Clinical Center was started in November.
The National Microbiological Institute and the Experimental Biology and Medicine Institute were established on November 1.
The Rocky Mountain Laboratory and Biologics Control Laboratory became two of the four components of the National Microbiological Institute on November 1.
1949--The purchase of 115.8 acres from the Town & Country Golf Club, Inc., for $600,000 was concluded February 11.
The purchase of 47.9 acres of land from Mr. and Mrs. G. Freeland Peter for $505,000 was concluded on February 14.
The National Institute of Mental Health was established on April 15, with the abolishment of the Division of Mental Hygiene.
The first issue of The NIH Record was published May 20.
The purchase of 50.2 acres of land from the Sisters of the Visitation for $173,058 was concluded on June 28.
Dr. Frank B. Rogers became director of the Army Medical Library in October.
1950--The Omnibus Medical Research Act, signed August 15, authorized the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Blindness and the National Institute of Arthritis and Metabolic Diseases, the latter absorbing the Experimental Biology and Medicine Institute. The act also gave the Surgeon General authority to establish new institutes.
Dr. William H. Sebrell, Jr., was appointed NIH director on October 1.
The National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Blindness and the National Institute of Arthritis and Metabolic Diseases were established November 22.
1951--The first R. E. Dyer Lecture was given by Dr. George W. Beadle, California Institute of Technology, June 21.
President Harry S. Truman laid the Clinical Center cornerstone on June 22.
1952--The Army Medical Library was renamed Armed Forces Medical Library in April.
1953--The first NIH Lecture was given on January 21 by Dr. Severo Ochoa of New York University College of Medicine.
PHS became part of the newly created Department of Health, Education, and Welfare on April 11.
The Clinical Center was dedicated on July 2, extending the clinical dimension of PHS research programs.
The first patient was admitted to the Clinical Center on July 6.
1954--A central data processing facility was established in the Office of the Director, NIH.
The NIH Graduate School Program began on September 27.
1955--The biologics control function was placed in the newly formed Division of Biologics Standards in June. The Division of Research Services and Division of Business Operations were also formed.
The Cancer Chemotherapy National Service Center was established April 1 to coordinate the first national cancer chemotherapy program.
The Mental Health Study Act was passed July 28.
Dr. James A. Shannon was appointed NIH director on August 1.
The National Microbiological Institute became the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) by order of the Surgeon General on December 29. The Biologics Control Laboratory was detached from the institute and expanded to division status within NIH.
1956--In January the biometric facility became the Biometrics Branch in the new Division of Research Services.
Dr. Leroy E. Burney was appointed PHS Surgeon General August 8.
The Armed Forces Medical Library was designated the National Library of Medicine (NLM) and placed under PHS October 1.
1957--The Center for Aging Research was established November 27 as the focal center for NIH extramural activities in gerontology.
1958--On July 16 the Division of General Medical Sciences was established by order of the Surgeon General, extending research into noncategorical areas covered until that time by the Division of Research Grants.
The Center for Aging Research was transferred from the National Heart Institute to the Division of General Medical Sciences on November 4.
1959--The Office of Administrative Management was formed July 15, consolidating the Division of Business Operations and other managerial responsibilities.
Congress appropriated $2 million for the establishment of one or two private research centers on August 19.
1960--On March 8 the Surgeon General approved establishment of a Computation and Data Processing Branch in the Division of Research Services.
NIH acquired 513 acres of farmland near Poolesville, Md., on May 6. This land became the site of the NIH Animal Center.
The International Health Research Act was passed July 12, extending NIH international programs.
1961--The Surgeon General established the Center for Research in Child Health in the Division of General Medical Sciences on February 17.
Dr. Luther L. Terry was appointed PHS Surgeon General March 24.
On May 26, DHEW Secretary Abraham A. Ribicoff dedicated the new NIDR building.
The first Jules Freund Lecture was given by Dr. Merrill W. Chase of the Rockefeller Institute on November 15.
The NIH European Office was established in Paris, France, on December 18.
1962--The NIH Latin American Office was established in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 1.
The Division of Research Facilities and Resources was established July 15.
Public Law 87-838, passed October 17, authorized the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences.
Five acres of land for a Gerontology Research Center were donated by the City of Baltimore in December.
1963--The NIH Pacific Office was established in Tokyo, Japan, on January 1.
The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences were established on January 30.
The Center for Research in Child Health and the Center for Research in Aging (established in 1956) were transferred from NIGMS to NICHD.
The surgical wing for the Clinical Center was dedicated September 5.
The first NIH International Lecture was given October 31 by Dr. Walsh McDermott of Cornell University Medical College.
1964--The Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System (MEDLARS) became operational at the NLM in January.
The Division of Computer Research and Technology was established on April 16.
On September 19 Congress authorized planning funds for a central environmental health research facility.
A special virus-leukemia program was initiated under a special appropriation, included in the FY 1965 appropriation signed into law on September 19.
1965--On January 7, the Surgeon General announced that the National Environmental Health Sciences Center would be located in Research Triangle Park, N.C.
The NIH Animal Center, Poolesville, Md., officially opened May 27 with 2 days of orientation for NIH employees, area residents and the press after completion of the first of three phases of an $18 million construction program.
NIH received a $20,250,000 supplemental appropriation on August 31 to intensify and expand support of research in heart disease, cancer, stroke and related diseases.
Dr. William H. Stewart, appointed PHS Surgeon General September 24, took office on October 2.
A reorganization of the DHEW provided for an expansion of the secretary's office with the creation of three new assistant secretaries, including an assistant secretary for health and scientific affairs.
Dr. Philip R. Lee was appointed to the new position of assistant secretary for health and scientific affairs on November 2.
1966--The Division of Regional Medical Programs was created on February 1 to administer grants under the Heart Disease, Cancer and Stroke Amendments of 1965. Dr. Robert Q. Marston was appointed NIH associate director for regional medical programs and chief of the division.
At a White House meeting June 27, the NIH director and institute directors discussed with the President how the benefits of research findings in health could be brought more rapidly to all the people. Later in the year, a report to the President described current NIH research efforts on the major U.S. disease problems and set forth the status of those problems, the nature of present and planned investigative efforts and the problems of and opportunities for further research.
A Division of Environmental Health Sciences was established in NIH November 1 to conduct, foster and coordinate research on the biological, chemical, and physical effects of environmental agents. Dr. Paul Kotin, scientific director for etiology, NCI, was named director of the new division.
An advisory committee to the NIH director was appointed on November 9 to provide advice on the further development of NIH research and related programs.
1967--The National Institute of Mental Health was separated from NIH and raised to bureau status in PHS by a reorganization that became effective January 1. NIMH's Division of Clinical, Behavioral and Biological Research, within the mental health Intramural Research Program, comprising activities conducted in the Clinical Center and other NIH facilities, continued here under an agreement for joint administration between the two companion bureaus. The Toxicology Information Program was established at NLM, January 1, in response to recommendations of the President's Science Advisory Committee. The program includes the entire range of chemical effects on living organisms.
The PHS Audiovisual Facility, renamed the National Medical Audiovisual Center, became an NLM component July 1.
On September 26, the deed for 509.25 acres of Research Triangle Park, N.C., to serve as a permanent site for the Division of Environmental Health Sciences, was presented to the Surgeon General.
1968--Establishment of the John E. Fogarty International Center for Advanced Study in the Health Sciences (FIC) was given departmental approval February 26. The center became operational on July 1, at which time the NIH Office of International Research was abolished and certain of its functions were transferred to FIC and NIAID.
Under a reorganization of health activities announced on April 1, NIH assumed status as a new operating agency within the department, with the NIH director reporting directly to the assistant secretary for health and scientific Affairs. Under the reorganization, the Bureau of Health Manpower and the National Library of Medicine became components of NIH.
On June 15 the four-story $7.5 million Gerontology Research Center building--located at and operated in cooperation with Baltimore City Hospitals--was officially opened.
A proposed facility to house the biomedical communications network was designated the Lister Hill National Center for Biomedical Communications by passage of P.L. 90-456 on August 3.
Established by the DHEW secretary on August 9, the Center for Population Research conducts a contract and grant program in population and reproduction research. The center was designated by the President as the primary Federal agency responsible for population research and training.
On August 16 the National Eye Institute was created to build an enlarged program based on blindness research formerly conducted in the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Blindness. The legislation also changed the NINDB name to the National Institute of Neurological Diseases.
Dr. Robert Q. Marston was sworn in as NIH director on August 29.
A Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded on October 16 to Dr. Marshall W. Nirenberg, chief of NHI's Laboratory of Biochemical Genetics, for discovering the key to deciphering the genetic code. He was the first NIH Nobel laureate, and the first Federal employee to receive a Nobel Prize.
On October 24 the President signed into law (P.L. 90-639) legislation changing the name of the NIND to the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke.
The National Eye Institute was established on December 26.
1969--A further reorganization of the NIH internal structure announced January 4 renamed the Bureau of Health Manpower as the Bureau of Health Professions Education and Manpower Training and expanded it to include seven divisions, one of which was the Division of Research Resources (DRR).
The Division of Environmental Health Sciences was elevated to institute status on January 12, thus becoming the 10th NIH institute.
Dr. Roger O. Egeberg was named DHEW assistant secretary for health and scientific affairs on July 14, succeeding Dr. Lee.
On November 10, the DHEW secretary redesignated the National Heart Institute as the National Heart and Lung Institute.
1970--A reorganization of the Bureau of Health Professions Education and Manpower Training renamed it the Bureau of Health Manpower Education on September 18. DRR was separated from the bureau and became a division within NIH.
1971--Dr. Merlin K. DuVal was appointed DHEW assistant secretary for health and scientific affairs on July 1, succeeding Dr. Egeberg.
The White House Conference on Aging recommended creating a separate National Institute on Aging on December 2.
On December 23 the President signed the National Cancer Act of 1971 initiating a National Cancer Program, establishing the President's Cancer Panel, a National Cancer Advisory Board and 15 new research, training and demonstration cancer centers.
1972--The National Institute of Arthritis and Metabolic Diseases was renamed the National Institute of Arthritis, Metabolism, and Digestive Diseases on May 19.
On July 1, DBS transferred from NIH and officially became a sixth bureau---Bureau of Biologics--in the Food and Drug Administration. The bureau continues to use NIH facilities and buildings.
The DHEW secretary approved a reorganization of NHLI on July 14, elevating the institute to bureau status within NIH. A bureau-level organization was established for the National Cancer Institute on July 27.
On October 25 Public Law 92-564 established a temporary National Commission on Multiple Sclerosis (supported by NINDS).
Dr. Christian B. Anfinsen, NIAMDD, won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on ribonuclease.
1973--Dr. Charles C. Edwards was appointed DHEW assistant secretary for health on April 18, succeeding Dr. DuVal.
Dr. Robert S. Stone was sworn in as the 10th NIH director on May 29.
The Bureau of Health Manpower Education was transferred from NIH to the new Health Resources Administration on July 1 and renamed the Bureau of Health Resources Development.
The National Institute of Mental Health rejoined the National Institutes of Health on July 1. On September 25, NIMH became part of the new Alcoholism, Drug Abuse and Mental Health Administration.
1974--The Research on Aging Act of 1974, creating the National Institute on Aging, was signed into law on May 31.
On July 23, the National Cancer Act Amendments of 1974 were signed by the President to improve the National Cancer Program. It also established a President's Biomedical Research Panel.
The National Institute on Aging was established on October 7.
The Interagency Primate Steering Committee was established by the DHEW assistant secretary for health with NIH as the lead agency.
Institutional Relations Branch was transferred on October 27 from DRG to the immediate Office of the Director, NIH, and renamed the Office for Protection From Research Risks.
1975--On March 13 the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke was renamed the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke.
Dr. Theodore Cooper was appointed DHEW assistant secretary for health on July 1, succeeding Dr. Edwards.
Dr. Donald S. Fredrickson was sworn in as the 11th NIH director on July 1.
The Adult Development and Aging Branch and the Gerontology Research Center were separated from NICHD to become the core on the National Institute on Aging also on July 1.
1976--On June 25, the National Heart and Lung Institute was renamed the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
Dr. D. Carleton Gajdusek, NINCDS, shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Dr. Baruch Blumberg, Institute for Cancer Research. Dr. Gajdusek was honored for his research on kuru and Dr. Blumberg for his work on the Australia antigen at the National Institute of Arthritis and Metabolic Diseases (1957-1964).
1977--Construction of the Ambulatory Care Research Facility was started in April.
On July 13, Dr. Julius B. Richmond took the oath of office as DHEW assistant secretary for health and Surgeon General, becoming the first person to hold both offices simultaneously.
1978--On November 15 the DHEW secretary announced the establishment of the National Toxicology Program under direction of NIEHS.
1979--Dr. Hans J. Muller Eberhard, Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation, delivered the first Kinyoun Lecture on April 24.
A protocol of cooperation in the exchange of information on medicine and public health between the United States and China was signed on June 22 in Beijing's historic Great Hall. The DHEW secretary signed on behalf of the U.S.
On July 18 NCI and the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Md., agreed to cooperate in a cancer treatment research program.
1980--DHEW became the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) on May 14. A separate Department of Education was established.
On May 22, the Lister Hill Center for Biomedical Communications was dedicated as part of NLM.
1981--On May 14 Dr. Edward N. Brandt, Jr., was sworn in as assistant secretary for health.
The National Institute of Arthritis, Metabolic, and Digestive Diseases was renamed the National Institute of Arthritis, Diabetes, and Digestive and Kidney diseases on June 23.
On June 30 Dr. Fredrickson stepped down as NIH director. Dr. Thomas E. Malone was appointed acting director.
The Ambulatory Care Research Facility was officially dedicated on October 22. The research hospital was renamed the Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center in honor of the former chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations. Sen. Magnuson was involved in support of biomedical research at NIH since 1937.
Dr. C. Everett Koop became PHS Surgeon General on November 16.
1982--On April 22 NIADDK was converted to bureau status, joining NCI, NHLBI, and NLM. Dr. James B. Wyngaarden, chairman of the Duke University department of medicine, was appointed NIH director on April 29.
The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development marked its 20th anniversary on September 20.
NIGMS celebrated its 20th anniversary by establishing the DeWitt Stetten, Jr., Lectureship. Dr. David S. Hogness, Stanford University, gave the first lecture, October 13.
The National Institute on Aging opened its first on-campus research unit in the NIH Clinical Center.
The NIEHS facility in Research Triangle Park, N.C., was dedicated on November 15.
Lasker Foundation Awards were presented on November 17 to three NIH scientists: Dr. Elizabeth Neufeld, NIADDK; Dr. Roscoe O. Brady, NINCDS; and Dr. Robert C. Gallo, NCI.
1983--On January 18, Bldg. 1 was officially named the James A. Shannon Bldg. in honor of the former NIH director (1955-1968).
The first multidisciplinary pain clinic in the U.S. devoted exclusively to research was opened in the Clinical Center March 21 by NIDR.
NCI dedicated its R.A. Bloch International Cancer Information Center on October 2. The building houses the institute's information programs that serve health professionals and scientists.
In December, the Clinical Center celebrated its 30th anniversary of operation.
1984--NIH purchased the Convent of the Sisters of the Visitation of Washington along with about 11 acres of land for $4.5 million.
In May NCI scientists headed by Dr. Robert C. Gallo, Jr., uncovered strong evidence that variants of a human cancer virus--called HTLV-III--are the primary cause of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).
DCRT celebrated its 20th anniversary in May.
NIH and Howard Hughes Medical Institute launched a multimillion dollar cooperative program in August to help increase the vigor of American biomedical research and continue the flow of new doctors into research areas.
The former Convent was dedicated Sept. 19 as the Mary Woodard Lasker Center for Health Research and Education.
1985--NIH and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute chose the first 25 HHMI-NIH research scholars in June.
In July the NIA celebrated its 10th anniversary.
1986--In May the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases became a separate institute separated from its parent NIADDK--now called the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Also created was the National Center for Nursing Research.
NIH held the First Intramural Research Day on Sept. 25 featuring symposia and poster sessions.
In June NIAID funded 14 centers to evaluate experimental drugs in the treatment of AIDS.
NIH opened its year-long centennial cele-bration--A Century of Science for Health--on Oct. 16.
1987--NIH scheduled monthly events, hosted by individual components throughout the year, to commemorate its 100th anniversary.
NIAID awarded contracts to five medical centers to establish AIDS treatment evaluation units.
NIEHS celebrated its 20th anniversary, while NIGMS and DRR marked their 25th.
Fifty-six promising science students--one from each state and U.S. possession--were honored by NIH as centennial scholars.
On July 23 President Reagan named a 13-member Commission on the Human Immunodeficiency Virus Epidemic, which held its first meeting following the announcement.
NIH became a smoke-free agency on Sept. 1 banning smoking in all buildings.
Hundreds of NIH alumni from the U.S. and abroad returned to the campus on Oct. 15-16 to help close out the year-long celebration of the NIH centennial.
1988--NIH was honored by Spain with the presentation of the Grand Cross of the Civil Order of Health.
The NICHD celebrated its 25th anniversary and NIAID and NIDR marked their 40th.
The Children's Inn at NIH, a temporary home away from home for NIH pediatric patients was dedicated. A gift of $2.5 million from Merck and Co. Inc. was donated toward the construction of the building.
"Sky Horizon," a sculpture created by Louise Nevelson, was given to NIH by Edwin C. Whitehead, founder of the Whitehead Institute of Biomedical Research.
Officials from NICHD, NINDS, and NIMH broke ground for a facility they will share--Bldg. 49, the Child Health and Neurosciences Building.
November marked the establishment of the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. The parent institute was renamed the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
1989--On May 10, Bldg. 31 was named the Claude Denson Pepper Bldg. to honor NIH's "legislative father."
The NIH Record marked its 40th year of publication in May.
On May 22, NIH conducted its first gene transfer in humans. A cancer patient was infused with tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) that had been altered by insertion of a gene. This allowed scientists to track the special cancer-fighting cells in the body to increase the understanding of TIL therapy.
1990--The National Center for Human Genome Research was established in January.
DRR and DRS merged in March and named the National Center for Research Resources.
On June 21 the Children's Inn at NIH opened its doors to pediatric patients and their families. The President and Mrs. Bush attended the ceremonies.
The Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee approved the first experiments involving transfer of human genes for therapeutic purposes on July 31. The treatment was initiated on September 14 in a 4-year-old girl with adenosine deaminase deficiency.
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases marked their 40th anniversaries.
It was announced in September that the gene that caused osteoarthritis was isolated by scientists supported by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases.
The Office of Research on Women's Health was established to strengthen NIH's efforts to improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of illness in women and to enhance research related to diseases and conditions that affect women.
1991--On January 29, NIH scientists treated the first cancer patients with human gene therapy. Two patients received transfusions of special cancer-killing cells removed from their own tumors and armed in the laboratory with a gene capable of producing a potent antitumor toxin, tumor necrosis factor.
Dr. Bernadine Healy was confirmed as NIH's 13th director on Mar. 21. She is the first woman appointed to this post.
In August the National Center for Human Genome Research announced the start of a new, unified effort to develop a `'framework'' map of the human genome�expected to take 2 to 3 years to complete.
1992--On October 1, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institute on Drug Abuse, and National Institute of Mental Health were transferred from ADAMHA to NIH.
Two components--NICHD and NIGMS--celebrated their 30th anniversaries on September 21 and October 17 respectively.
1993--The National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and National Institute of Mental Health were transferred from the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration to become part of the NIH.
NIH Director Bernadine Healy stepped down to return to the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
The Clinical Center celebrated its 40th anniversary.
Sixteen university medical programs were launch sites for the 15-year, $625 million Women's Health Initiative. About 3,000 women will be enrolled at each center to investigate women's most common causes of death and disability.
Dr. Harold Varmus was appointed NIH's 14th Director.
FIC noted its 25th anniversary.
The National Center for Nursing Research became the 16th institute.
1994--Former director, Dr. James Shannon, died.
NHLBI scientists for the first time successfully transferred a normal cystic fibrosis gene into the cells lining a CF patient's lungs.
Researchers at NIEHS isolated the BRCA1 gene--responsible for about 5 percent of all breast cancers and 25 percent in women under age 30.
Dr. Martin Rodbell, NIEHS, shared the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for research on G proteins, key components of the communication system that regulates cellular activity.
1995--NLM unveiled the "Visible Man," a detailed atlas of human anatomy created from thousands of images of a human body collected by radiographic and photgraphic techniques.
1996--The first multicenter trial of bone marrow transplantation in children with sickle cell disease demonstrated that the procedure can provide a cure for young patients that have a matched sibling, according to NHLBI-supported scientists.
DRG celebrated its 50th anniversary and NIEHS noted its 30th.
1997--Researchers with NHGRI completed a map of chromosome 7, an important milestone within the Human Genome Project.
DRG was renamed the Center for Scientific Review and DCRT became the Center for Information Technology.
Vice President Al Gore performed an "inaugural search," opening up free access on the world wide web to NLM's MEDLINE.
Results from the NIH-supported Dietary and Systolic Hypertension trial indicated that blood pressure can be swiftly and significantly lowered through a diet low in fat and high in vegetables, fruits, and low-fat dairy foods.