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549 lines
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<div class='syndicate'><h1>History</h1><div><p>For more than a century, NIH scientists and supported scientists have paved the way for important discoveries that improve health and save lives. In fact, hundreds of scientists who won the <a href="https://www.nih.gov/about-nih/what-we-do/nih-almanac/nobel-laureates">Nobel Prize</a> conducted their work at NIH or were supported by NIH funds. Their studies have led to the development of MRI, understanding of how viruses can cause cancer, insights into cholesterol control, and knowledge of how our brain processes visual information, among dozens of other advances.</p>
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<h3>The Roots of NIH</h3>
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<p>The National Institutes of Health traces its roots to 1887, when a one-room laboratory was created within the Marine Hospital Service (MHS), predecessor agency to the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS).</p>
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<p>The MHS had been established in 1798 to provide for the medical care of merchant seamen. In the 1880s, the MHS had been charged by Congress with examining passengers on arriving ships for clinical signs of infectious diseases, especially for the dreaded diseases cholera and yellow fever, in order to prevent epidemics. Read <a href="https://history.nih.gov/exhibits/history/index.html"><em>A Short History of NIH</em></a>.</p>
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<h3>Chronology of Events</h3>
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<p><a href="/about-nih/what-we-do/nih-almanac/chronology-events">Significant events</a> and major research advances in NIH history.</p>
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<h3>Legislative Chronology</h3>
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<p><a href="/about-nih/what-we-do/nih-almanac/legislative-chronology">Federal legislation</a> that had a major influence on the growth of the NIH, from its beginning as the Marine Hospital Service in 1798.</p>
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<h3>NIH Reauthorization</h3>
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<p>NIH is responsive to Congressional legislation that adjusts NIH's programs to meet changing research needs. As a result of the <a href="/about-nih/who-we-are/nih-reauthorization">NIH reauthorization</a> process, NIH is able to respond strategically in an era when medical research requires constant innovation and increased interdisciplinary efforts.</p>
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<h3>Related Links</h3>
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<img class="media-element" src="https://www.nih.gov/sites/default/files/styles/landing_teaser_breakpoint-medium/public/about-nih/oldlogo.jpg?itok=Emm74HOX&timestamp=1444394775" alt="1969 NIH logo" title="1969 NIH logo" />
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</picture> </div>
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<h3 class="teaser-title"><a href="/about-nih/who-we-are/history-nih-logo">A History of the NIH Logo</a></h3>
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<source srcset="https://www.nih.gov/sites/default/files/styles/landing_teaser_breakpoint-medium-small/public/about-nih/Greece-657-PlaneTree-Hippocrates-9-21-59Litho_zpsea6f77a5.JPG?itok=58qX_Mab&timestamp=1444335563 1x" media="screen and (min-width: 480px)"></source>
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<source srcset="https://www.nih.gov/sites/default/files/styles/landing_teaser_breakpoint-medium-small/public/about-nih/Greece-657-PlaneTree-Hippocrates-9-21-59Litho_zpsea6f77a5.JPG?itok=58qX_Mab&timestamp=1444335563 1x" media="screen and (min-width: 0)"></source>
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<img class="media-element" src="https://www.nih.gov/sites/default/files/styles/landing_teaser_breakpoint-medium/public/about-nih/Greece-657-PlaneTree-Hippocrates-9-21-59Litho_zpsea6f77a5.JPG?itok=8OvaRPqt&timestamp=1444335563" alt="Tree of Hippocrates Stamp." title="Tree of Hippocrates Stamp" />
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<h3 class="teaser-title"><a href="/about-nih/tree-hippocrates">The Tree of Hippocrates</a></h3>
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<p>This page last reviewed on October 8, 2024</p> </div> </div>
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<h3 class="block__title">NIH’s Scientific Legacy</h3><div class="ds-1col file file-image file-image-jpeg view-mode-shadowbox_sidebar clearfix">
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<a href="https://www.nih.gov/sites/default/files/about-nih/joseph-goldberger_0_1.jpg"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.nih.gov/sites/default/files/about-nih/joseph-goldberger_0_1.jpg" width="348" height="256" alt="Dr. Joseph Goldberger seated at a table in a hospital." title="Dr. Joseph Goldberger seated at a table in a hospital" /></a><span class="caption">Dr. Joseph Goldberger seated at a table in a hospital.</span></div>
|
||
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<p> </p>
|
||
|
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<p>The <a href="https://history.nih.gov/">Office of NIH History</a> educates the public about the process of biomedical research and its achievements, like Dr. Joseph Goldberger's discovery of the cause of <a href="https://history.nih.gov/exhibits/Goldberger/">pellagra</a> in 1916 (above). Visit our <a href="https://history.nih.gov/museum/virtual.html">virtual exhibits</a> to learn more.</p>
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<h3 class="block__title">Always There: The Remarkable Life of Ruth Lillian Kirschstein, M.D.</h3><div class="ds-1col file file-image file-image-jpeg view-mode-shadowbox_sidebar clearfix">
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||
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<a href="https://www.nih.gov/sites/default/files/about-nih/always-there-book-cover_1.jpg"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.nih.gov/sites/default/files/about-nih/always-there-book-cover_1.jpg" width="717" height="1082" alt="Book cover for Always There: The Remarkable Life of Ruth Lillian Kirschstein, M.D." title="Always There: The Remarkable Life of Ruth Lillian Kirschstein, M.D." /></a><span class="caption">Always There: The Remarkable Life of Ruth Lillian Kirschstein, M.D.</span></div>
|
||
|
||
<p> </p>
|
||
|
||
<p>A vital force in polio vaccine research. A staunch advocate for diversity. An NIH icon. Read the Ruth Kirschstein story, now available free for eReaders. <a class="more" href="/about-nih/who-we-are/always-there-remarkable-life-ruth-lillian-kirschstein-md">Read the Book</a></p>
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