Julius B. Richmond dies at 91

Former US Surgeon General and pediatrician Julius B. Richmond, MD, has died of cancer at age 91, as reported by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

Dr. Richmond established the national Head Start program in 1965 in order to promote school readiness, as a result of work in the field of child psychosocial development.

As part of President Johnson's War on Povery, Dr. Richmond helped create the Neighborhood Health Centers, and as surgeon general under President Carter from 1977 to 1981, he made great headway in tobacco control through his 1979 Surgeon General's Report, which presented overwhelming evidence of the many harmful effects of smoking tobacco.

Since its inception, the Head Start program has helped more than 25 million children develop important social and cognitive skills. The AAP's Julius B. Richmond Center of Excellence, named in honor of Dr. Richmond, aims to eliminate child exposure to tobacco smoking and secondhand smoke.