History

The School was founded in 1916 as the world’s first independent degree-granting school of public health. Our rich history illustrates the breadth and depth of the School’s mission and includes a legacy of trailblazing work to advance public health.

Defined by academic excellence, pioneering research, and the translation of knowledge into practice, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has been a vanguard of public health for more than a century, providing population-level solutions to urgent public health problems around the world.

Our Deans have shaped the School and the field, working alongside many other heroes of public health.

The School's Centennial in 2016 marked the first 100 years of public health innovation and leadership, and was celebrated with a sweeping retrospective of the School’s history, an assessment of its legacy, and a vision for its future as a public health pacesetter, guided by the institution’s mission: Protecting Health, Saving Lives—Millions at a Time.

The School's history is chronicled two books Disease and Discovery: A History of the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, 1916–1939 by Elizabeth Fee and Health and Humanity: A History of the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, 1935–1985 by Karen Kruse Thomas, PhD. A third volume is underway.