The Ransdell Act reorganized, expanded and redesignated the Laboratory of Hygiene (created in 1887) as the National Institute of Health.

Congress appropriated $750,000 in the bill for construction of facilities and research fellowships. The NIH grew into today's 27-unit National Institutes of Health

National Institutes of Health

The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...

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The Ransdell Act was sponsored by and named for Joseph E. Ransdell

Joseph E. Ransdell

Joseph Eugene Ransdell was a United States Representative and Senator from Louisiana. Born in Alexandria, the seat of Rapides Parish in central Louisiana, Ransdell attended public schools. In 1882, he graduated from Union College in Schenectady, New York...

, a United States Senator for the state of Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

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