The creation of the Gorgas Memorial Institute, arises as an initiative in 1921 by Dr. Belisario Porras, President of the Republic of Panama to honor the illustrious Dr. William Crawford Gorgas, who eradicated yellow fever in the Isthmus of Panama allowing the construction of the Channel. This dream culminated in 1928 when its facilities were inaugurated on Avenida Justo Arosemena. In 1929 the Institute's Scientific Library was created, in which the original publications of all the Institute's prestigious researchers are located. These facilities were run by the United States of America until 1990 and their orientation was basically conducting research in Tropical Medicine.