The holiday was officially signed into U.S. law in the early 1990s by President George Bush. The history of Doctors’ Day dates back to the early 1930s, however.
According to The Barrow County News, in an article written by Pamela Settle Miles, MD, the holiday was conceived by Eudora Brown Almond, a physician’s wife in Georgia. The date of March 30th was chosen to celebrate Doctors’ Day because it is the anniversary of the day that anesthesia was first administered to a patient, also in Georgia, by Dr. Crawford W. Long in 1842.
The very first Doctors’ Day in 1933 consisted of a few doctors’ wives putting together a luncheon for the local physicians in Winder Georgia, northeast of Atlanta.
Today, National Doctors’ Day is commemorated in a variety of ways. Some hospitals and employers offer a variety of perks to doctors on this day, including luncheons, gifts, or pampering them spa treatments. As with any holiday, a number of companies have contributed to the commercialism of the holiday, with greeting cards from Hallmark, and other companies selling products specifically for Doctors’ Day.
