Armstrong – Table of Contents

At this juncture it is worthwhile to describe the historical evolution of the
Division (later Laboratory) of Infectious Diseases (3). This organization was the most
direct descendant of the original Marine Hospital Service research laboratory established
in August 1887 at the Marine Hospital on Staten Island, New York. Its function was to
assist the Public Health Service in diagnosing infectious diseases among passengers on
incoming ships. Detached from the Hospital and moved to the Butler Building in
Washington, D.C. in 1891, this “Laboratory of Hygiene” became known as the Hygienic
Laboratory. Authorized in 1901 by Congress to investigate “infectious and contagious
diseases and matters pertaining to the public health,” the research of the Hygienic
Laboratory focused primarily on bacteriology and pathology, the two major fields of 19th
century medical interest (3). In 1902 a reorganization of the Public Health Service
divided the Laboratory into four divisions; infectious disease research became located in
the Division of Pathology and Bacteriology. On February 1, 1937, the Division was
renamed the Division of Infectious Diseases, becoming one of the eight Divisions and
one Office (of Comparative Studies) defined in the National Institute of Health
reorganization of that date. The NIH moved to the Bethesda campus from 1938 – 1941 as
the construction of the buildings was being completed. During this period the Division
had the assignment of administrative jurisdiction over the Rocky Mountain Laboratory in
Hamilton, Montana. The Division incidentally carried on the heart and dental research of
the Public Health Service (3). Almost coincidental with my arrival at NIH, in the
reorganization of 1948 that created the (plural) National Institutes of Health, the Division
became the Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, one of the four original components of the
National Microbiological Institute (NMI) also established at that time (the other three