Brookings Institution History

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Brookings Institution History

The Brookings Institution traces its beginnings to 1916, when a group of leading reformers founded the Institute for Government Research (IGR), the first private organization devoted to analyzing public policy issues at the national level.

In 1922 and 1924, one of IGR's backers, Robert Somers Brookings (1850-1932), established two supporting sister organizations: the Institute of Economics and a graduate school bearing his name.

In 1927, the three groups merged to form the Brookings Institution, honoring the businessman from St. Louis whose leadership shaped the earlier organizations.

Time line of Brookings history:

Brookings		United States
IGR (forerunner Brookings) established Founding Ideals	1916		General Pershing pursues Pancho Villa into Mexico
	1918		World War I ends
	1920		Nineteenth Amendment gives women right to vote
Institute of Economics (Brookings forerunner) founded	1922		Warren G. Harding, 29th President
The Early Years	1925		Calvin Coolidge, 30th President
IGR and Institute of Economics merge to form the Brookings Institution Harold Glenn Moulton 1st President	1927		Charles Lindbergh flies solo across the Atlantic
	1929		Stock Market crash; Herbert Hoover, 31st President
Building dedicated at Jackson Place	1931
The Depression: Voice of Opposition	1932		Franklin D. Roosevelt elected President
	1935		Social Security Act passed by Congress
	1939		U.S. declares its neutrality in European War
War and Readjustment	1941		Japan attacks Pearl Harbor
	1944		U.S. and Allied forces invade Normandy
	1945		World War II ends; Harry S Truman, 33rd president
	1947		Marshall Plan aids European countries
Academic Prestige For Policy Research	1950		Korean War begins
Robert Calkins becomes 2nd president of Brookings	1952		Dwight D. Eisenhower elected President
	1954		Racial segregation in schools is ruled unconstitutional
	1958		First U.S. satellite goes into orbit
	1961		Bay of Pigs invasion; John F. Kennedy, 35th President
National Doubts and Confusion	1963		President Kennedy is assassinated; Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th President
	1965		Medicare and Medicaid established
	1966		Bombing of Hanoi area in Vietnam begins
Kermit Gordon becomes 3rd president of Brookings	1967
	1969		Neil Armstrong lands on Moon; Richard M. Nixon, 37th President
Brookings Papers on Economic Activity first published	1970
First publication of Setting National Priorities	1971
	1974		President Nixon resigns; Gerald R. Ford, 38th President
	1976		Communist forces complete takeover of South Vietnam
Bruce MacLaury becomes 4th president of Brookings	1977		Jimmy Carter, 39th President
	1979		Partial meltdown at Three Mile Island nuclear reactor
Setting New Agendas	1981		Space shuttle makes first flight; Ronald Reagan, 40th President
Publication of Brookings Review begins	1982
	1984		President Reagan is reelected
Center for Public Policy Education established	1985
	1986		Space shuttle Challenger explodes
Continuity and Change	1989		Berlin Wall is taken down; George H. W. Bush, 41st President
	1991		Soviet Union collapses
	1992		Bill Clinton, 42nd president
	1994		GOP gains majority in Congress
Michael Armacost becomes 5th Brookings president	1995
Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy established	1996		President Bill Clinton re-elected
	1999		NATO forces take military action against Yugoslavia
	2001		9/11 terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington DC; George W. Bush, 43rd President
Strobe Talbott becomes 6th Brookings president	2002
	2003		Operation Iraqi Freedom
Urban Center becomes Metropolitan Policy Program	2004
Establishment of China Initiative, Center on Children and Families, and Global Economy and Development Center	2005		Hurricane Katrina hits Gulf coast
Brookings celebrates 90th anniversary	2006

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