Detail map of Bethesda, Maryland, United States,Washington, District of Columbia, United States Overview map of Bethesda, Maryland, United States,Washington, District of Columbia, United States

A: Bethesda, Maryland, United States, B: Washington, District of Columbia, United States

Origins of the National Library of Medicine

1836
First building housing the Library of the Office of the Surgeon General of the Army.

First building housing the Library of the Office of the Surgeon General of the Army.

In 1836 the Eighth Surgeon General of the United States Army Joseph Lovell purchased books and journals, establishing the Library of the Surgeon General's Office, also called the Library of the Surgeon General of the Army on the National Mall in Washington, DC.

In 1840 the library issued its first catalogue as a manuscript notebook. This library eventually evolved into the National Library of Medicine, now located in Bethesda, Maryland.

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