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The Stetten Museum of NIH History

The DeWitt Stetten, Jr., Museum of Medical Research, also known as the NIH Stetten Museum, preserves and interprets through physical and virtual exhibits the material culture of the scientific work of the NIH. Established in 1986, the NIH Stetten Museum collects instruments important to scientific research, especially instruments and technologies developed at the NIH. The Museum also collects non-scientific objects related to the general history of the NIH, including architectural artifacts, artwork, and clothing. Search our collections online or contact the NIH Office of History Stetten Museum curator at museum@nih.gov.Established in 1986, the NIH Stetten Museum collects instruments important to scientific research, especially instruments and technologies developed at the NIH. The Museum also collects non-scientific objects related to the general history of the NIH, including architectural artifacts, artwork, and clothing.

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Dr. and Mrs. DeWitt Stetten cutting ribbon to Windows into NIH History

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Dr. and Mrs. DeWitt Stetten cutting ribbon to Windows into NIH History

Dedication of the DeWitt Stetten Museum of Medical Research. Dr. Stetten had proposed the creation of a museum of medical instruments in the early 1980s. Among the attendees at the dedication was the PHS Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop.

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In the early 1950s, Louise Endicott, a long-time member of the National Institutes of Health Scientific Reports Branch, asked to be appointed as an unofficial agency historian. Ms. Endicott retired in 1956 and in 1962, Dr. Wyndham Miles was appointed as the first professional historian for the National Institutes of Health. He served until 1974, when he moved to the History of Medicine Division at the National Library of Medicine.

During the years leading up to the National Institutes of Health centennial commemoration, Dr. DeWitt Stetten, Jr., NIH Deputy Director for Science (emeritus) proposed establishment of a museum of medical research instruments to preserve the material heritage of biomedical research. In October 1986, the museum, combined with a revived NIH History Office, was created, and Dr. Victoria A. Harden was appointed NIH Historian and Curator. In May 1987, the museum was renamed in honor of Dr. Stetten. In 2002, the organization was renamed the Office of NIH History with two components, the Historical Research Unit and the Stetten Museum. Dr. Harden retired in 2006 and Dr. Robert Martensen served as director from 2007 through 2012.

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