On May 8, 1980, the World Health Assembly certified the world free of naturally-occurring smallpox. Smallpox is an…
In 1979, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) licensed the RA 27/3 (human diploid fibroblast) strain of…
On Apr. 6, 1977, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (now Department of Health and Human Services)…
In 1977, Joseph A. Califano, Jr., Secretary of the Dept of Health, Education, and Welfare (later Health and…
In 1976, because of evidence of increased vaccine efficacy at older ages, the recommended age for vaccination was…
On Apr. 22, 1971, the measles, mumps, and rubella virus (M-M-R II) vaccine Live developed by Maurice Hilleman was…
On Nov. 25, 1969, President Richard Nixon issued his “Statement on Chemical and Biological Defense Policies and Programs”…
In 1969, live, attenuated rubella vaccines were first licensed in the U.S., and a vaccination program was established…
On Nov. 26, 1968, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) licensed a second live, further attenuated measles…
On Jun. 12, 1966, the Serum Institute of India was founded in 1966 by Dr. Cyrus Poonawalla with…
On Mar. 21, 1963, the first live virus measles vaccine (Rubeovax by Merck) was licensed. Other live virus…
In 1963, the U.S. Congress established the Immunization Grant Program; polio incidence plummeted to only 396 reported cases…
In 1963, the first measles vaccines were licensed in 1963. Both vaccines were an inactivated (ﾓkilledﾔ) and a…
In 1955, The Mayo Clinic Heritage Hall museum opened in Rochester, Minnesota with a generous gift from John…
In 1954, John Franklin Enders and Thomas C. Peebles isolated measles virus from an 11-year-old boy, David Edmonston….
On Apr. 7, 1948, the World Health Organization (WHO) was founded and is today the United Nations agency…
In 1921, the founding of the Rocky Mountain Laboratory (RML) can be traced back to westward migration when…
In 1911, John F. Anderson and Joseph Goldberger first transmitted measles (rubeola) to monkeys by contact Their study…
In 1906, Walter W. King showed the transmission of Rocky Mountain spotted fever by infected ticks to guinea…
In 1896, Rocky Mountain spotted fever was first recognized in the Snake River Valley of Idaho and was…
On Jul. 11, 1868, Texas cattle disease first appeared at Jersey City’s Communipaw slaughterhouse in the New York…
In 1846, Peter Panum described the highly contagious nature, the 14-day incubation period, and the induction of lifelong…