History of FDA

Evolution of FDA - the 1st 100 Years

FDA dates its origin to June 1906, when President Teddy Roosevelt signed the Food and Drugs Act and entrusted implementation of this law to the Bureau of Chemistry of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Bureau, the oldest U.S. consumer protection office, eventually became the FDA, an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Over the years, FDA has provided Americans with increasingly comprehensive, science-based protections that ensure the highest quality of products essential for health and survival. Today, these products represent almost 25% of all consumer spending and include 80% of the national food supply and all human drugs, vaccines, medical devices, tissues for transplantation, equipment that emits radiation, cosmetics, and animal drugs and food. Additionally, in 2009, FDA was charged with implementing the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.

The FDA website www.fda.gov/about-fda traces the history of the Agency during its first 100 years. The FDAAA was honored to cosponsor the FDA centennial observance held at the Harvey W. Wiley Federal Building in College Park, Maryland on June 30, 2006. See remarks given by FDAAA President, Anthony Celeste http://www.fdaaa.org/history_of_fda/CelesteCentennialRemarks.pdf

FDA Commissioners

Robert M. Califf, M.D.

2/17/22 -- Present

Dr. Stephen M. Hahn

12/17/2019 - 1/19/2021

Carl L. Alsberg, M.D.

12/16/1912 - 7/15/1921

Charles A. Browne

7/1/1924 - 6/30/1927

Walter G. Campbell

7/16/1921 - 6/30/1924 & 7/1/1927 - 4/30/1944

Paul B. Dunbar, Ph.D

5/6/1944 - 5/31/1951

Charles W. Crawford

6/1/1951 - 7/31/1954

George P. Larrick

8/12/1954 - 12/27/1965

James L. Goddard, M.D.

1/17/1966 - 7/1/1968

Herbert L. Ley, Jr., M.D.

7/1/1968 - 12/12/1969

Charles C. Edwards, M.D.

12/13/1969 - 3/15/1973

Alexander M. Schmidt, Ph.D

7/20/1973 - 11/30/1976

Donald Kennedy, Ph.D

4/4/1977 - 6/30/1979

Jere E. Goyan, Ph.D

10/21/1979 - 1/20/1981

Arthur H. Hayes, M.D.

4/13/1981 - 9/1/1983

Frank E. Young, M.D., Ph.D

7/15/1984 - 12/17/1989

David A. Kessler, M.D.

11/8/1990 - 2/28/1997

Jane E. Henney, M.D.

1/17/1999 - 1/19/2001

Mark B. McClellan, M.D., Ph.D

11/14/2002 - 3/26/2004

Lester M. Crawford, D.V.M., Ph.D

7/18/2005 - 9/23/2005

Andrew C. von Esenbach, M.D.

12/13/2006 - 1/20/2009

Margaret Hamburg, M.D.

5/22/2009 - 4/4/2015

Robert M. Califf, M.D.

2/24/2016 - 1/20/2017

Scott Gottlieb, M.D.

05/11/2017 - 04/05/2019

Harvey W. Wiley, M.D.

1/1/1907 - 3/15/1912