The National Center for Biotechnology Information is Founded

Recognizing the importance of computerized information processing methods for the conduct of biomedical research, on November 4, 1988 Senator and Representative Claude Pepper sponsored legislation that established the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) as a division of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM). NLM was chosen for its experience in creating and maintaining biomedical databases, and because as part of NIH, it could establish an intramural research program in computational molecular biology.