NLM Rewarded with Hammer

Rockefeller Telemedicine Event

Frances Howard Retirement

Chinese Art Exhibit

Becky Lyon Named Deputy Assoc. Director of Library Operations

Cravedi Named Liaison Officer

2000 Budget Announced

Long Range Plan Meeting

Son of MEDLINEplus

Rodbell Archive Added To Profiles In Science

New NLM Associates

Dr. Bond Named Board Chair

Altemus and Detweiler Win Award for "Frankenstein"

NLM Honor Awards

Dr. Cassedy Logs 50 Years

Names in the News

Products and Publications

NLM in Print

Spend any time at all with 85-year-old Frances Humphrey Howard and you're immediately struck by her infectious energy and enthusiasm.

And effective October 1, 1999, Mrs. Howard could expend those gifts anywhere and in any way she pleased. On that date, she began a so-called retirement from government, although she'll maintain an office at NLM and anyone who knows her knows she'll hardly be idle.

The indefatigable Howard joined the Library staff in 1970, as Special Assistant to the Associate Director for Extramural Programs. In that capacity, she has helped draw attention to medical libraries, and served as a liaison between NLM and other federal agencies, the biomedical community, private nonprofit organizations, and universities. Mrs. Howard was also a driving force behind the creation of NLM's National Center for Biotechnology Information, which creates automated systems for storing and analyzing knowledge about molecular biology and genetics. She was also instrumental in the founding of a private organization, the Friends of the NLM, which supports Library projects.

"Fran Howard has been a dynamo," remarked NLM Director Dr. Donald A.B. Lindberg. "The nation, including the NLM, is much indebted to her for her tireless support of scientific research, providing hope for all who need it."

Actually, NLM, the nation and the world have benefited from Mrs. Howard's advocacy. For a time, she was a Foreign Service Officer at the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development. During her time with AID and the Office of the War on Hunger, she made over 75 addresses during a 30-country tour on foreign aid.

Frances Humphrey graduated from George Washington University in 1937 with a bachelor of arts degree in sociology. Five years later she married a classmate, Ray Howard. Both were intensely interested in health and social welfare issues, and she earned her master's in sociology while he went through medical school.

In one of the most interesting chapters in a fascinating life, Frances Humphrey in 1941 became First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt's assistant for employee activities in the National Civil Defense Office. Mrs. Roosevelt was one of the most influential figures in Frances Humphrey Howard's life. Another with whom she had a special bond was her brother, the late Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey, Jr. She assisted in his political campaigns and, among other collaborations, joined with him to develop the Peace Corps program while she was an assistant at the International Cooperation Agency (later AID).

After she was widowed in 1967, Howard continued in her civil service and international efforts, receiving numerous citations, awards and honorary degrees. She worked for the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (now HHS) during the Nixon Administration and finally ended up at NLM.

She was a trendsetter in her time, pursuing a career and having a family. And she continued to break the mold in later life, working long past retirement age as the epitome of a public servant. As First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton remarked in a letter of congratulations on Mrs. Howard's 85th birthday, "Young and old, rich and poor, healthy and infirm have benefited from Frances' strength, wisdom and resolve. She gives new meaning to the term 'the good citizen.'"

Photo: Frances Humphrey Howard greets former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt in the 1950s.

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