Before the Buildings: The Ideas That Built a Nation, a University, and a Children’s Hospital

In 2026, three anniversaries remarkably align.

It will be 250 years since the United States declared independence in 1776.

150 years since Johns Hopkins University opened in 1876 as the nation's first modern research university.

And 100 years since Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital began caring for children in 1926.

At first glance, these milestones seem unrelated. Placed side by side, they tell a story about what makes America distinctive: the belief that people can build a better future, and the freedom to do so.

Because before there were buildings, there were ideas.

Ideas That Came Before Infrastructure

In 1776, the American founders articulated something revolutionary: that a nation could be organized not around the authority of kings, but around the rights and potential of its citizens.

In 1876, a vision became reality: Johns Hopkins University opened as the nation's first modern research university. The institution embodied the bold vision of Johns Hopkins, a self-made merchant and son of Maryland tobacco farmers, who believed a great university could transform how we advance knowledge. Under its first president, Daniel Coit Gilman, that vision evolved into something revolutionary: a university where discovery, education and medicine were inseparable, and where knowledge would serve the public good.

In 1926, members of the American Legion in St. Petersburg, Florida — veterans who had served their country — decided their community's children deserved specialized care and children with serious illnesses often went without the focused attention they needed. At the time, the nearest pediatric hospital was several hours away. Before All Children’s was a hospital, it was these veterans' commitment to the next generation.

Each of these began the same way: someone saw what could become and built what did not yet exist.

From the Pursuit of Happiness to the Pursuit of Knowledge and Health

In 1776, the phrase "the pursuit of happiness" established a uniquely American promise: that people should have the freedom to improve their own lives and rise based on their contributions, not their birth. It declared that talent and ambition could emerge from anywhere.

But happiness is sustained by health, and health is advanced by knowledge.

Over time, that foundational belief took physical shape in schools, universities, hospitals and research institutions that became models for the world. The revolutionary model adopted by President Gilman at Johns Hopkins, that teaching and research were inseparable, reshaped American higher education. The university attracted brilliant minds from across America and around the world, people drawn to a place where merit mattered more than pedigree.

Johns Hopkins grew into a global network dedicated to advancing knowledge and translating it into care. Researchers and clinicians from dozens of countries have contributed to this work, drawn by an American model that rewards merit, expands opportunity, and turns discovery into public good.

By 1926, that tradition reached St. Petersburg, when veterans created a hospital devoted entirely to children. Decades later, that hospital joined the Johns Hopkins Medicine family, linking the veterans' vision with a university built on discovery. Today, Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital receives significant state funding to expand pediatric cancer clinical trials — a modern extension of the belief that every child deserves specialized care.

What began in 1776 as a philosophical right evolved into something distinctly American: a tradition of building institutions that provide opportunities to help people reach their full potential.

Building for a Future You Will Never See

The people who began these efforts could not have imagined what their ideas would become.

The founders of 1776 could not picture a nation that would draw people from every corner of the world seeking opportunity.

Johns Hopkins could not foresee that his university would train generations of doctors and researchers, pioneering discoveries that have advanced care around the world.

The veterans who started All Children's could not have imagined neonatal intensive care units or research integrated directly into bedside care.

Yet they built anyway. They invested in the long term. They built for people they would never meet. This willingness to build for tomorrow is woven into the American character.

Consider the chain reaction: The founders believed that ordinary people with freedom could build extraordinary things. That belief built a university dedicated to discovery, inspired veterans to create a hospital for children, and now drives Florida's investment in expanding pediatric cancer clinical trials. Today, this means a child in St. Petersburg can receive personalized care that didn't exist a generation ago.

These Anniversaries Remind Us of The Possible

These anniversaries remind us what becomes possible when people have the freedom to build something larger than themselves.

A declaration became a nation that created unprecedented freedom and opportunity.

A vision became a university that redefined learning and discovery.

A commitment to children became a hospital that cares for generations of families.

The story of 250, 150, and 100 years is a reminder that America's greatest achievements began as ideas and became places where those ideas live on every day, sustained by people who share the belief that tomorrow can be better than today.

As we mark these milestones, we recognize that the same work continues. Today's researchers, clinicians, and educators are building for futures they will never see, advancing knowledge that will shape care for generations to come.