1939-1945: World War II
1952: AMA member Jonas Salk, MD, produces first polio vaccine and vaccinates 100 children
1952: Worlds first open heart surgery performed by AMA members C. Walton Lillehei and F. John Lewis
1953: Geneticists James Watson and Francis Crick decipher DNA's double-helix structure
1957: Union of Soviet Socialist Republics launches Sputnik, the first satellite
1942
The AMA Council on Medical Education and the Association of American Medical Colleges establish the Liaison Committee on Medical Education to accredit programs leading to the MD degree
1943
AMA opens office in Washington, DC
1951
Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals is formed by AMA, the American College of Surgeons, American College of Physicians, American Hospital Association and the Canadian Medical Association
AMA Educational Foundation established to help medical schools meet expenses and to help medical students
1954
AMA recommends equipping all automobiles with safety belts
1956
AMA declares alcoholism an illness
1958
American Medical Association News begins publication
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