On October 31, 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the NIH Bethesda campus on this site and declared that the National Institute of Health spoke the universal language of humanitarianism. He said it had been devoted throughout its long and distinguished history to furthering the health of all mankind, and in dedicating the institute he dedicated it to the underlying philosophy of public health, to the conservation of life, and to the wise use of the vital resources of the nation.
