1872: The American Public Health Association (APHA) founded by Dr. Stephen Smith, a physician, attorney and commissioner of New York City’s Metropolitan Health Board, puts forth the concept of a national health service.

1890s: Water pollution, milk sanitation, hygiene education, bacteriology, infectious diseases

1893: APHA and the United States focus on the control of tuberculosis.

1895: APHA publishes the standard methods for the examination of water and sewage.

1900-1910s: infectious diseases, municipal health, water, standardization of health data

1900-1910s: infectious diseases, municipal health, water, standardization of health data

1900: Walter Reed reports at the APHA annual meeting that mosquitoes carry yellow fever.

1905: APHA publishes the standard methods for the examination of milk.

1906: first Federal Food and Drug Act passed; APHA publishes the American Journal of Public Hygiene.

1908: APHA’s standardized death certificate adopted by the U.S. Census.

1909: APHA publishes the standard methods for the examination of air.

1911: Journal of the American Public Health Association established.

1916: APHA publishes first issue of Control of Communicable Diseases in Man.

1918: APHA postponed its Annual Meeting in reaction to a global influenza pandemic. The Association conducted scheduled discussions regarding the pandemic in December 1918.

1920s: local health departments, water, milk, training standards, personal hygiene, infectious disease, close-quartered living

1925: APHA creates Appraisal Form for Local Health Work.

1930s: Communicable diseases, sanitation, laboratories, statistics, food safety, housing, education, poverty, medical care, war

1932: President Hoover speaks at APHA’s annual meeting.

1940s: Professional standards, evaluations of schools of public health, infectious diseases, functions of local health departments

1943: APHA sets qualification standards for health educators.

1948: United Nations establishes the World Health Organization with strong APHA support.

1950: APHA member Jonas Salk introduces Salk vaccine for polio.

1950s: Push for federal agency solely focused on health and federal health funds for states, health legislation and advocacy, accreditation of public health schools, polio, pasteurization and food safety

1956: National Library of Medicine established.

1960s: Equality within public health work force, integration, the War on Poverty, birth control, public health training, environmental issues, consumer protection, human rights

1964: Surgeon General’s Report on Smoking and Health published; President Johnson signs the Medicare/Medicaid Act.

1965: APHA publishes the first Public Health Law Manual.

1970: Congress establishes the Environmental Protection Agency(EPA); the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA); and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

1970s: War, global health, drug abuse, new technology, upgraded health facilities

1970s: War, global health, drug abuse, new technology, upgraded health facilities

1972 APHA celebrates its 100th anniversary with 25,100 members.

1973: APHA cited in Supreme Court decision striking down most anti-abortion laws.

1974: APHA Presidential Citation presented to Rev. Jesse Jackson.

1980s: AIDS, teen pregnancy, nuclear safety

1982: APHA testifies at the first Congressional hearings on AIDS.

1986: Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter speaks at annual meeting.

1990s: Clinton Health Reform Plan, Gulf War impacts, tobacco, managed health care, vaccinations, E. coli, AIDS, school safety

1994: Medicine and Public Health Initiative established by the APHA and American Medical Association.

1995: Former U.S. president William Jefferson Clinton proclaims the first full week of April as National Public Health Week (NPHW).

1997: APHA celebrates its 125th anniversary with 32,000 members; Presidential Citation presented to Nelson Mandela.

1999: APHA builds its own building in Washington, D.C.

2000s: Emergency preparedness, obesity, climate change, built environment

2005: APHA relocates its Annual Meeting from New Orleans, La. to Philadelphia, Pa. following widespread devastation left by Hurricane Katrina.

2006: APHA launches Get Ready campaign.

2010s: President Barack Obama signs the health care reform legislation into law (March 23, 2010). Food safety, child nutrition, EPA regulations.

Timeline: Memorable Issues of APHA Focus