On Aug. 18, 1990, the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush.

The act was named in honor of Ryan White, an Indiana teenager who contracted AIDS through a tainted hemophilia treatment. He was diagnosed with AIDS in 1984 and became a well-known advocate for AIDS research and awareness, until his death on Apr. 8, 1990.

The bill, introduced by Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA), amended the Public Health Service Act to provide grants to improve the quality and availability of care for individuals and families with HIV disease, and for other purposes.