{"id":4949,"date":"2014-09-10T11:00:01","date_gmt":"2014-09-10T15:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/?p=4949"},"modified":"2024-10-02T13:12:53","modified_gmt":"2024-10-02T17:12:53","slug":"rare-footage-of-fdr-at-nih","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/2014\/09\/10\/rare-footage-of-fdr-at-nih\/","title":{"rendered":"Rare Footage of FDR at NIH"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Rebecca C. Warlow<\/em><\/p>\n

On October 31, 1940, just days before President Franklin Delano Roosevelt would be elected to an unprecedented third term as President of the United States, he traveled to Bethesda to dedicate the National Cancer Institute and the new campus of what was then the National Institute of Health<\/a> (NIH), before it would eventually become known in plural form\u2014National Institutes<\/em> of Health\u2014as multiple units were established over subsequent years.<\/p>\n

\"President<\/a>
President Roosevelt at NIH
National Library of Medicine #101448011<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That late October afternoon, Roosevelt stood on the steps of the new main NIH building, ready to address a crowd of 3,000 people. Still relevant today, in a variety of contexts, are the subjects he discussed: the need for preparedness in light of war and for research into deadly diseases, recent improvements in public health and health care, and hope that the research conducted at NIH would lead to new cures for and even the prevention of disease.<\/p>\n

Today, the National Library of Medicine is making the film of Roosevelt\u2019s speech publicly available for the first time, nearly 74 years after the President made his speech. Sound recordings<\/a>, transcripts<\/a>, and photographs<\/a> of this event have been available publicly for many years. Our research suggests, however, that this rare film footage has not been seen publicly since its recording and may no longer exist anywhere else.<\/p>\n

The live footage of the speech was given to NLM many years ago by the National Archives and Records Administration<\/a>. The recording does not appear to have been professionally produced, although news organizations such as CBS were present on that day. The camera is unsteady in places, a hand sweeps across the lens, and the filming starts and stops, though it isn\u2019t known whether this is a result of the original filming or of later editing.<\/p>\n

While we have long been able to hear<\/a> Roosevelt\u2019s support for public health and medical research, now we can see<\/em> him state some of his powerful words from this important speech, and truly appreciate the experience of being in the audience on that historic day. The President\u2019s concluding words capture the weight of the moment: \u201cToday the need for the conservation of health and physical fitness is greater than at any time in\u00a0the nation\u2019s history. In dedicating this Institute, I dedicate it to the underlying philosophy of\u00a0public health, to the conservation of life, to the wise use of the vital resources of our nation.\u00a0I voice for America, and for the stricken world, our hopes, our prayers, our faith, in the power\u00a0of man\u2019s humanity to man.\u201d<\/p>\n