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Public Health Events

1928 Sep 28 Alexander Fleming Discovers Penicillin
"When I woke up just after dawn on September 28, 1928, I certainly didn't plan to revolutionize all medicine by discovering the world's first antibiotic, or bacteria killer, but I guess th..." —Sir Alexander Fleming
1934 Nov 14 Franklin D. Roosevelt Begins Trying to Reform Public Health
On November 14, 1934, taking note of the problem of “economic loss due to sickness,” which he characterized as “a very serious problem for many families with and without incomes” (and whi...
1962 Sep Publication of Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring"
Silent Spring is a book written by Rachel Carson and published by Houghton Mifflin in September 1962. The book is widely credited with helping launch the environmental movement. The New ...
1963 Clean Air Act
The Clean Air Act (P.L. 88-206 77, Stat. 401) established a program to help clean up dirty air and to maintain clean air. Congress extended its efforts to remedy and prevent air pollution...
1969 Jun 22 Cuyahoga River Catches Fire, Setting Off a Series of Pollution Control Legislation
On June 22, 1969, the Cuyahoga River caught on fire. This dramatic event, which got international news coverage, is still a reminder of the need to protect the environment. But this blot ...
1970 Founding of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
The NRDC was co-founded by John Adams in 1970. The organization lobbies Congress and other public officials for a public policy that promotes conservation of the natural and built environ...
1970 Dec 31 Passage of the Clean Air Act Extension of 1970, Leading to the Adoption of Catalytic Converters
The Clean Air Act Extension of 1970 (84 Stat. 1676, Public Law 91-604) is a United States federal law that requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop and enforce regula...
1972 Jun 14 United States DDT Ban Takes Effect
An end to the continued domestic usage of the pesticide was decreed on June 14, 1972, when William D. Ruckelshaus, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, issued an order fi...
1972 Oct 18 Federal Water Pollution Control Amendments of 1972 (Clean Water Act)
The Clean Water Act is the primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution. Commonly abbreviated as the CWA, the act established the goals of eliminating releases to wa...
1974 Dec 16 Safe Drinking Water Act
The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) is the principal federal law in the United States that ensures safe drinking water for the public. Pursuant to the act, the Environmental Protection Age...
1979 Mar 28
4:00AM
 Three Mile Island Accident at Nuclear Generating Station
The Three Mile Island accident was a partial core meltdown in Unit 2 (a pressurized water reactor manufactured by Babcock & Wilcox) of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station in ...
1980 Dec 11 Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), Commonly Called Superfund, is Signed into Law
Superfund is the common name for the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), a United States federal law designed to clean up abandoned haz...
1986 Apr 26
1:23AM
 Chernobyl Disaster - Nuclear Reactor Explodes, Causing Worst Nuclear Disaster in History
The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (then part of the Soviet Union...
1989 Jan 1 Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer Enters into Force
The Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer (a protocol to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer) is an international treaty designed to protect...
1989 Mar 24
12:04AM
 Exxon Valdez Strikes Bligh Reef, Causing Disastrous Oil Spill at Sea
The Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred in the Prince William Sound, Alaska, on March 23, 1989. It is considered one of the most devastating human-caused environmental disasters ever to occur...
1990 Nov 5 Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 Goes Into Effect, Expanding the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI)
The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) is a publicly available database containing information on toxic chemical releases and other waste management activities in the United States. The da...
1991 Oct 24
to 1991 Oct 27
 First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit
The Environmental Justice Movement (EJM) is a confluence of social and environmental movements which deals with Environmental Justice In the early 1980s, environmental justice emerged as...
1992 Dole 5 A Day Program Commences Distribution of Free Nutritional Education Materials to Schools
Dole 5 A Day begins distributing free nutrition education materials to elementary schools across the United States.
1995 Dole Launches www.dole5aday.com
Dole 5 A Day launches www.dole5aday.com as another interactive way to educate young children and their families about fruits, vegetables and physical activity.
1996 Jan 1 US Clean Air Act is Amended to Ban the Sale of Leaded Fuel for Use in On-Road Vehicles
The mixture known as gasoline, when used in high compression internal combustion engines, has a tendency to autoignite (detonation) causing a damaging "engine knocking" (also called "ping...
1996 Mar 6 US EPA Requires Home Buyers and Renters to be Informed of Lead-Based Paint Hazards
On March 6, 1996, EPA and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued the lead-based paint disclosure rule which ensures that families receive information to protect them...
2001 May 23 Signing of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)
Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants is an international environmental treaty that aims to eliminate or restrict the production and use of persistent organic pollutants (...
2009 Jun 20 Pharmaceutical Industry Agrees to Spend $80 Billion (US) Improving Drug Benefits for Seniors on Medicare
The pharmaceutical industry agreed Saturday to spend $80 billion over the next decade improving drug benefits for seniors on Medicare and defraying the cost of President Barack Obama's he...
2009 Jun 25 CDC Estimates that Number of Americans Infected with Swine Flu has Reached 1 Million
An estimated 1 million Americans have been infected with the H1N1 swine flu, which continues to produce mild illness and a fairly quick recovery in patients, U.S. health officials said Th...
2009 Jun 29 Several Articles in the New England Journal of Health Indicate that Swine Flu is More Dangerous For Younger People
With a worldwide pandemic under way and more than a million Americans sickened by the new swine flu, the special nature of this disease is becoming better understood. Several articles ...
2009 Jul 7 Florida Health Officials Announce Sixth H1N1 Flu-Related Death
Florida health officials said on Tuesday that a 19-year-old woman had died of the A/H1N1 flu in Orange County as the sixth victim of the virus in the state. "We continue to emphasi...
2009 Jul 7 Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization Holds Special Meeting to Discuss H1N1 Vaccine Recommendations
On 7 July 2009, the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization held an extraordinary meeting in Geneva to discuss issues and make recommendations related to vaccine for t...
2009 Jul 22 First Death in Hungary Caused by H1N1 Flu Virus
A 41-year-old man, the first Hungarian to die of the H1N1 flu virus, has passed away without showing any symptoms of swine flu, officials said Wednesday. Ferenc Falus, the Hungarian ch...
2009 Jul 22 National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) Announces it will Begin a Series of Trials to Gain Insight into Vaccine Development
Scientists in a network of medical research institutions across the United States are set to begin a series of clinical trials to gather critical data about influenza vaccines, including ...
2009 Jul 28 Researchers Report on Study of of H1N1 Virus in Milwaukee
How severe is the H1N1 influenza? And why were there so many cases in Milwaukee this spring and summer? "The hardest and, globally, the most important question, is the severity," said ...
2009 Jul 29 CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) Meets to Make Recommendations on Who Should Receive H1N1 Vaccine Once it is Available
Every flu season has the potential to cause a lot of illness, doctor’s visits, hospitalizations and deaths. CDC is concerned that the new H1N1 flu virus could result in a particularly se...
2009 Aug 10 Emory University Begins Vaccinating Volunteer Participants in H1N1 Vaccine Trial
Calling it "a race against time," Emory began giving volunteers the first shots of the H1N1 vaccine. Emory is one of eight centers nationwide testing two vaccines for pandemic flu. ...
2009 Aug 10 University of Maryland School of Medicine Begins Participation in Nationwide N1H1 Vaccine Trials
The University of Maryland School of Medicine will lead a research study on an experimental vaccine to prevent swine flu. The school’s Center for Vaccine Development will participate i...
2009 Aug 18 Researchers at Johns Hopkins University Predict H1N1 Flu Not Likely to be as Serious as 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic
Researchers in the United States are working furiously to prepare for the upcoming flu season, which usually begins in late October, but could peak earlier than normal this year. Vaccines...
2009 Aug 19 Florida Health Officials Say Number of Swine Flu Deaths has Risen to 59
State health officials say 59 people have died from swine flu in Florida. The Florida Department of Health released an updated H1N1 death toll Wednesday. Federal health officials ha...
2009 Sep 1 Governor Schwarzenegger Issues Grim H1N1 Warning to Californians
Gov. Schwarzenegger urges Californians to prepare for upcoming flu season; visits state public health laboratory as H1N1 preparations continue. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today urged Cal...
2009 Sep 1 University of Maryland Presents Study Indicating H1N1 Virus, Known as Swine Flu, Unlikely to Mutate into 'Superbug'
The new H1N1 virus appears to outcompete seasonal flu, making it less likely to mix with other circulating flu viruses into a "superbug" as some had feared, U.S. researchers said on Tuesd...
2009 Sep 1 Wake Forest University Identifies Over 80 Cases of H1N1 or Swine Flu
The Winston-Salem Journal reported Tuesday that Wake Forest University plans to continue with classes as usual, though students who aren't feeling well have been told to stay home. Uni...
2009 Sep 2 Democratic Sources Say President Obama to Give Speech on Health Care Reform to Joint Session of Congress on September 9
President Obama will address the contentious issue of health-care reform in a speech to a joint session of Congress on September 9, multiple Democratic sources said Wednesday. President ...
2009 Sep 2 Emory University Sequesters Students with Flu-Like Symptoms in an Attempt to Avoid Swine Flu Outbreak
Officials with Emory University in Atlanta say around 50 students with swine flu have been moved to a separate dorm. Those students are not attending classes and school workers are bringi...
2009 Sep 2 Man's Fingertip Bitten Off at Rally for Health-Care Reform
One of a national series of rallies for health-care reform took a violent turn Wednesday night when, according to authorities in Thousand Oaks, Calif., an unidentified man bit off the tip...
2009 Sep 3 iPhone Application Allows User to Track H1N1 Flu Outbreaks
A new iPhone application called "Outbreaks Near Me" that allows users to track and report local outbreaks of infectious disease was released Tuesday. Developed by researchers at Childr...
2009 Sep 3 Vice President Biden Says Prosects of Health-Care Reform This Year are High
But the similarities between the stimulus package and health care reform go deeper. As it turns out, the two policy goals are interlinked. In his speech today, Biden made sure to mention ...
2009 Sep 4 Centers for Disease Control Release Early Study on Deaths from H1N1 Virus, Commonly Known as Swine Flu
The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says his kids are going to get the swine flu vaccine when it's available. Dr. Thomas Frieden says health officials have ...
2009 Sep 5 President Obama Speaks to Group of Doctors from all 50 States on Health Care Reform Plan
President Obama is continuing his push for healthcare reform. He told a group of doctors from all 50 states that the current healthcare system is broken and needs to be fixed. He pointed ...
2009 Sep 5 Washington State University Officials Estimate 2,000 Cases of Swine Flu Among Student Population
The swine flu has wreaked havoc at Washington State University (WSU), where more than 2,000 students have come down with swine flu symptoms since school started. The campus has had s...
2009 Sep 9 President Obama Lays Out Plan for Health-Care Reform in Speech to Joint Session of Congress on
On Wednesday night, reeling from the angry if ill-informed outbursts at town hall meetings and concerned about his slipping poll numbers, the president finally found his voice. His speech...
2009 Sep 12 President Obama Speaks at Rally on Health-Care Reform
Thousands of roaring supporters turned out Saturday to rally behind President Obama’s call to overhaul the nation’s health care system, packing a basketball arena here as the president wa...
2009 Sep 16 Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus Releases His Health Care Proposal
At first glance, the mark comes across as a victory for the private insurance industry, which is why it was promptly attacked as a sell-out by liberal pundits. But the health insurance...
2009 Sep 18 US Federal Health Officials Announce H1N1 Flu Vaccine to Arrive by First Week of October
More than three million doses of swine flu vaccine will be available by the first week of October, a little earlier than had been anticipated, federal health officials announced Friday. ...