Poliomyelitis and the Salk Vaccine: 40th Anniversary Observance, 1995
Dr. Jonas Salk returned to Rackham Auditorium,
April 12, 1995 for a
program marking the 40th
anniversary of the vaccine announcement.
(photo by Bob Kalmbach)
On April 12, 1995, the March of Dimes Birth Defect Foundation and the University of Michigan commemorated the 40th anniversary of the Salk polio vaccine. Jonas Salk returned to Ann Arbor to help celebrate the anniversary. Returning to the Rackham Lecture Hall, where the historic announcement was made in 1955, polio survivors, "polio pioneers," and many others involved with the vaccine trials and press conference, joined Dr. Salk to reflect on the past and to look toward the future. Jonas Salk died on June 23, 1995, just two months after this appearance.
Documentation of the 40th anniversary includes the program prepared for the celebration. The illustrated program includes historical perspectives, reflections from a number of people involved in the vaccine trial and the treatment of polio, as well as polio survivors. A videotape of the 1995 commemorative event includes remarks by Jonas Salk, and several dignitaries, a documentary regarding testing of Salk vaccine, and testimony by polio survivors. A copy of the video is available at the Bentley Library (it is described in the Film and Video section of this guide).
40th anniversary booklet cover
Other sources of documentation of the event include planning files, invitations, and photographs of Jonas Salk and others taking part in the commemorative events. The record group, University of Michigan. President contains information on the event and photographs of a reception with Salk. The papers of President James J. Duderstadt contain his speech at the anniversary event. The record group University of Michigan. University and Development Events includes planning files and invitations to the event. The University of Michigan Photographs Vertical File [E25-354] includes a photo of Mrs. Jonas Salk from 1995. The University of Michigan Vertical File contains a folder on the "Salk Polio Vaccine 40th Anniversary" [E 17].