BACKGROUND
& HISTORY

The first Doctors’ Day observance was March 30, 1933, in Winder, Ga. The idea
came from Eudora Brown Almond, wife of Dr. Cha Almond, and the date was the
anniversary of the first use of general anesthetic in surgery. (On March 30,
1842, Dr. Crawford Long of Barrow County, Ga., used ether to remove a tumor
from a patient’s neck.)

The Barrow County Medical Society Auxiliary proclaimed the day “Doctors’
Day,” which was celebrated by mailing cards to physicians and their wives,
and placing flowers on the graves of deceased doctors, including Dr. Long.

The United States House of Representatives adopted a resolution commemorating
Doctors’ Day on March 30, 1958. In 1990, legislation was introduced into the
United States House of Representatives and United States Senate to establish
a National Doctors’ Day. Following overwhelming approval by the House and
Senate, then-President George Bush signed a resolution designating March 30
as National Doctors’ Day. The first National Doctors’ Day was celebrated in
1991.