Fifty Years Ago: the Darkening Day
Fifty Years Ago: The Darkening Day, an online exhibition curated by Tannaz Motevalli recognizes the 50th anniversary of The Darkening Day, a National Library of Medicine (NLM) exhibition on the health aspects of environmental pollution, which opened at the library in 1970 and was subsequently reviewed in the September 29, 1970, issue of the NIH Record, page 11.
Featuring selected works from the NLM collection, Fifty Years Ago: The Darkening Day highlights examples of research, programs and policies, public messaging, and action taken by the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare and federal scientists from the Public Health Service (PHS), as awareness of pollution’s detrimental impacts on health grew in the years preceding 1970.
The exhibition complements the history explored in Darkening Day: Air Pollution Films and Environmental Awareness, 1960–1972, a critical examination of six public health films from NLM’s historical audiovisuals collection, curation which is part of Medicine on Screen: Films and Essays from NLM.
This online exhibition features six sections with images of NLM collection items. The first section explores the impact of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring on the environmental health crisis in the late 20th century. The second section highlights initial responses in the late 1950s and early 1960s from the federal governments, federal scientists, and other government officials. The third section describes some of the first efforts to build a robust environmental health workforce within the Public Health Service (PHS.) The fourth section takes a deeper dive into the decade-long PHS health study of uranium miners in the Four Corners region of the United States. The fifth section features publications and ephemera that document the federal government’s efforts to share emerging science and public health messaging about the dangers of pollution. And lastly, the sixth section highlights federal pamphlets on pollution as part of the effort to reach every-day U.S. citizens.
This exhibition was produced by the NLM’s Exhibition Program in collaboration with NLM’s History of Medicine Division and the Office of Computers and Communications System. The exhibition was designed by HealyKohler Design.