Truman signs National Science Foundation Act, creating first federal agency dedicated to funding basic scientific research

President Truman signed Public Law 81-507, creating the National Science Foundation, on May 10, 1950. The law established NSF as an independent federal agency with a National Science Board of 24 members and a presidentially appointed director. The agency's mandate was to promote basic research and science education at colleges and universities across all non-medical scientific disciplines. NSF's first budget was just $151,000 for nine months of operations.