Among his many achievements, Benjamin Franklin played a leading role in the founding of America’s first hospital. Together with Dr. Thomas Bond, he obtained a charter for a hospital to serve the poor, sick and insane in Philadelphia. The Pennsylvania Hospital opened on this date in 1752 in a converted house. The hospital later developed at a location where a modern medical complex still serves the city. During its long history, the hospital’s doctors have made advances in many fields, becoming known as “the father” of both American psychiatry and also of surgery. Today, there are more than 6,500 hospitals in the U.S., employing over 5.5 million people. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at <www.census.gov>.
Sunday, February 10th. For over a century, Americans have been smitten with motor vehicles, and new models have long been a point of interest. Our appetite for cars was put on a crash diet this date in 1942 when the manufacturing of private vehicles was shut down for the duration of World War II. The auto companies instead were retooled to build tanks and planes and — of course — jeeps for the GIs. Sedans, trucks and ambulances were also made for military use. Production for civilian-use cars and trucks surged back to over 4 million units in 1946. In 2010, America’s 278 automobile and light-duty motor vehicle manufacturers sold almost 10 million passenger vehicles and trucks. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at <www.census.gov>.
Saturday, February 9th. On this date in 1961, newly inaugurated President John Kennedy asked Congress to approve a health insurance program for 14.2 million Americans 65 or older, financed by an increase in Social Security taxes. The proposal languished in Congress until after Kennedy was assassinated, when Medicare finally passed and was signed into law July 30, 1965, by President Lyndon Johnson. Now, more than 49 million people are enrolled — eight million of them disabled. The 2010 Census counted over 40 million Americans age 65 and over. That number is projected to exceed 88 million by 2050. You can find more facts about America’s people, places and economy from the American Community Survey at <www.census.gov>.