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Medicine > Centennial Celebration > Centennial Home and Schedule > Loma Linda University School of Medicine Timeline

History Navigation:

  • Historical Background
  • Timeline: 1909 - 2009
  • Deans: 1909 - 2009
  • Current Deans

Contact Info:

  • Alice Wongworawat
    somcentennial@llu.edu
    Phone: (909) 558-4481
    Fax: (909) 558-0292
Timeline: 1909 - 2009

  • Over the past 100 years, the School of Medicine has faced many challenges, witnessed countless miracles and been blessed in numerous ways. The following timeline highlights this centennial journey.

    • 1895

  • American Medical Missionary College (first SDA School of Medicine) opens in Battlecreek, MI.

    • 1905

  • February 4:
    Ellen G. White's letter says: "A place must be provided to which the sick could be taken, where they could be taught how to live so as to preserve health."

    • 1905

  • May 28:
    General Conference telegram to John Burden instructs him not to make deposit on Loma Linda.

    • 1905

  • May 14:
    Mrs. White writes, “Dear Brother Burden: …Secure the property by all means.”

    • 1905

  • May 29:
    John Burden pays $1,000 down to buy Loma Linda.

    • 1905

  • June 12:
    Mrs. White visits Loma Linda for first time.

    • 1905

  • July 26:
    $5,000 from unexpected source arrives on the deadline for the second payment for Loma Linda.

    • 1909

  • December 9
    CME incorporated under the laws of the state of California.

    • 1910

  • January 27:
    Mrs. White writes “The medical school at Loma Linda is to be of highest order.”

    • 1910

  • April 4:
    CME Board decides to offer part of medical training in Los Angeles.

    • 1911

  • Late fall:
    The Council on Medical Education secretary visits CME to make a preliminary assessment of its standing with the American Medical Association.

    • 1913

  • September 29:
    CME launches its Los Angeles dispensary.

    • 1913

  • October 31:
    The new Loma Linda hospital, located in the middle of what is now the basic sciences quadrangle, nears completion.

    • 1913

  • December 1:
    Loma Linda Hospital opens.

    • 1914

  • April 11:
    First physicians graduate from CME.

    • 1915

  • Fall Council of SDA church considers closing CME.

    • 1916

  • June 7:
    Board authorizes purchase of Ellen G. White Memorial Hospital site.

    • 1916

  • October 21:
    National Board holds first examination for CME.

    • 1918

  • February 3:
    CME receives “B rating” by Council on Medical Education.

    • 1922

  • November 14:
    AMA Council on Medical Education votes A rating for CME.

    • 1924

  • August 24:
    Completion of first unit of second hospital.

    • 1928

  • April 22:
    Groundbreaking held for main section of new building, now known as Nichol Hall.

    • 1928

  • December 25:
    Ray Arnold starts playing amplified music on Christmas morning from a public address system on top of his house. He eventually played Sabbath chimes for decades from the sanitarium elevator tower.

    • 1929

  • April 8, 9:
    Dedication of new hospital on hill.

    • 1934

  • October 6:
    College Church dedicates the recently completed Burden Hall.

    • 1935

  • March:
    Outdoor amphitheater remodeled with acoustic shell and orchestra pit and renamed Loma Linda Bowl.

    • 1936

  • Anatomy and Pathology buildings constructed.

    • 1943

  • July 1:
  • Accelerated program of medical education begins

    • 1943

  • September 15:
    Dedication of Army Specialized Training Program #3932 in Loma Linda.

    • 1950

  • June 11:
    Last graduation held in the Loma Linda Bowl.

    • 1951

  • June 10:
    First graduation ceremony held at the Redlands Bowl.

    • 1952

  • October 29:
    Board approves private practice plan for physicians.

    • 1955

  • May 26:
    Founders Day celebrates CME’s first 50 years.

    • 1955

  • American Medical Missionary College Stone, a gift of the class of 1899, arrives from Battle Creek, Michigan.

    • 1956

  • December
    ”To make man whole,” first chosen as the theme for the 1955, year-long 50th anniversary, adopted as institution’s motto.

    • 1960

  • September 10
    Inauguration of new College Church (now known as University Church).

    • 1960

  • September 25
    Second Kate Lindsay Hall (women’s dormitory) opens.

    • 1961

  • July 1
  • CME becomes Loma Linda University.

    • 1962

  • September 25-26
    LLU board votes to consolidate on one university campus at Loma Linda.

    • 1963

  • March 9
    Organization of Walter E. Macpherson Society.

    • 1963

  • April 29
  • First open-heart surgery team leaves for Pakistan

    • 1963

  • June 27
  • Trustees ratify School of Medicine affiliation with Riverside County General Hospital.

    • 1964

  • First class to take clinical rotations at Riverside General Hospital.

    • 1964

  • June 7
  • Ground is broken for LLUMC.

    • 1966

  • January 25
  • Completion of the east tower marks structural completion of new hospital.

    • 1967

  • April 17
  • First kidney transplant performed at Loma Linda University Hospital.

    • 1967

  • July 9
  • LLUH is first occupied.

    • 1967

  • July 10
  • The first baby is born in the new University Hospital.

    • 1967

  • October 17
  • Original Loma Linda Sanitarium is razed.

    • 1967

  • November 1
  • First open-heart surgery is performed by LLU team in Greece.

    • 1970

  • September 14
  • Loma Linda University Hospital is renamed Loma Linda University Medical Center.

    • 1971

  • August 20
    President Richard M. Nixon and Governor Ronald Reagan visit Loma Linda to announce the buildling of a new VA hospital.

    • 1973

  • July 6
  • First LLUMC patient receives pacemaker.

    • 1974

  • Students for International Mission Service (SIMS) organized.

    • 1974

  • April 17
    First open-heart surgery in Vietnam is done by LLU team.

    • 1976

  • January 20
  • First open-heart surgery in Saudi Arabia is done by LLU team.

    • 1977

  • September 25
  • Grand opening is held for Jerry L. Pettis Memorial Veterans Hospital.

    • 1979

  • September 4
  • Faculty Medical Offices building opens.

    • 1979

  • December 2
  • First group of LLU medical personnel flies to Thailand to help Cambodian refugees.

    • 1980

  • LLUMC becomes the only hospital designated by the State of California as a Level 1, Regional Trauma Center for the four Inland Counties.

    • 1980

  • January 3
  • First recipient of Open Hearts for Children Fund undergoes surgery at LLUMC.

    • 1981

  • Good Samaritan sculpture unveiled.

    • 1982

  • May 11
    Loma Linda Community Hospital is purchased by LLUMC.

    • 1984

  • January
    Center for Christian Bioethics inaugurated.

    • 1984

  • March 13 Alumni Hall for Basic Sciences opens.

    • 1984

  • October 26
  • “Baby Fae” receives the heart of a baboon.

    • 1986

  • September
  • Schuman Pavilion opens.

    • 1987

  • February 2
  • Outpatient Surgery Center is opened.

    • 1988

  • February 8
  • Loma Linda International Heart Institute opens.

    • 1989

  • August 26
  • The first in vitro baby is born at LLU’s Center for Fertility and In Vitro Fertilization.

    • 1989

  • September 20
  • The School of Medicine accepts nearly 50 students from the medical school closing at Oral Roberts University, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

    • 1990

  • October 18
  • Department of pathology and laboratory medicine becomes first academic department of SM to be sufficiently endowed to sustain its teaching functions with earnings from endowed assets.

    • 1990

  • October 23
  • First patient receives treatment at Proton Treatment Center.

    • 1991

  • January 18
  • BMC becomes operational.

    • 1994

  • May 2
    Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital opens in Hangzhou, China.

    • 1992

  • July 9
  • LLUMC celebrates its 25th anniversary.

    • 1993

  • January 16
  • First kidney/pancreas transplant is performed at LLUMC.

    • 1993

  • August 20
  • The first local liver transplant is performed at LLUMC.

    • 1996

  • June 29
  • First bone-marrow transplant is performed at LLUMC.

    • 1996

  • November 29
  • Baby Juan Santiago receives skin transplant, a first at LLUMC.

    • 1997

  • March 2
  • Opening ceremonies are held for the LLU Coleman Pavilion.

    • 1997

  • March 30
  • Chan Shun Pavilion Cancer Institute is named.

    • 1998

  • July 27
  • LLUMC is recognized as one of “America’s Best Hospitals” by U.S. News and World Report.

    • 1998

  • August 5
    Stamp honoring organ donations is unveiled at LLUMC.

    • 1999

  • May 26
  • First stem-cell transplant is performed at LLUMC.

    • 2001

  • May 3
  • LLUMC implants world’s smallest pacemaker into infant.

    • 2003

  • October 27
  • LLUMC is named among top 100 hospitals in cardiovascular care.

    • 2004

  • March 15
  • LLU/LLUMC medical team travels to Afghanistan to evaluate hospital request.

    • 2004

  • March 30
  • “Venom ER” series begins on Animal Planet Channel.

    • 2008

  • Grand opening is held for renovated Cancer Center for Medical Oncology, Schuman Pavilion.

    • 2008

  • LLUMC purchases California Heart and Surgical Hospital.

    • 2009

  • East Campus hospital adds 28 new beds.

    • 2009

  • Centennial Complex opens.
Contact Us:Alice Wongworawat
Phone: (909) 558-4481
Fax: (909) 558-0292
Email: somcentennial@llu.edu
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