Quick Facts
- Date: February 4, 1962 (opening day; observed annually by St. Jude/ALSAC as Founder’s Day)
- Location: Memphis, Tennessee
- Key figures: Founder Danny Thomas; first director Donald Pinkel, MD; architect Paul Revere Williams
- Attendance: Approximately 9,000 people at the opening ceremony
- Notable first: The South’s first fully integrated children’s hospital
Main Story
On February 4, 1962, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital opened its doors in Memphis before a crowd of about 9,000 supporters. The institution, founded by entertainer Danny Thomas, joined patient care with cutting-edge research and pledged to treat children regardless of race, religion, or a family’s ability to pay—an extraordinary commitment in the segregated South and a milestone in Memphis history and the wider 901 community. Today, St. Jude and its fundraising organization, ALSAC, commemorate this anniversary each year as Founder’s Day.
The original star-shaped hospital was designed by renowned architect Paul Revere Williams. Under its first director, Donald Pinkel, MD, St. Jude pioneered new approaches to childhood cancers, especially acute lymphoblastic leukemia, establishing a collaborative model that would influence pediatric oncology worldwide. From its earliest days in the Bluff City—the same city that gave the world Beale Street—St. Jude embodied a civic vision that paired scientific ambition with access to care.
Legacy
Founder’s Day marks more than an anniversary; it honors a Memphis institution whose work has helped drive dramatic gains in survival from childhood cancers since 1962. St. Jude identifies February 4, 1962, as the moment its mission began, and it continues to highlight the hospital’s role as the South’s first fully integrated children’s hospital and a leading research center. For the Bluff City and all of 901, the annual observance underscores a lasting contribution to health, inclusion, and discovery that resonates far beyond Memphis.
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