Founding of March of Dimes

Date: January 3, 1938 • Location: Washington, United States

The American health charity March of Dimes was founded as the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis to help raise money for polio research.

March of Dimes is an American nonprofit organization that works to improve the health of mothers and babies. The organization was founded by US president Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1938, as the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, to combat polio. The name "March of Dimes" was coined by Eddie Cantor as a pun on the newsreel series The March of Time. After funding Jonas Salk's polio vaccine, the organization expanded its focus to the prevention of birth defects and infant mortality. In 2005, as preterm birth emerged as the leading cause of death for children worldwide, research and prevention of premature birth became the organization's primary focus.