Video: 'UVic Legacy Awards - Dr. Frances Oldham Kelsey -- Alumni Legacy Award' (JFK awards Kelsey at 1:57)

(Tuesday, August 7, 1962) — U.S. President John F. Kennedy awarded Food and Drug Administration (FDA) official Dr. Frances O. Kelsey the Distinguished Federal Civilian Service Medal today for her diligence in blocking approval of thalidomide, a sedative found to cause severe birth defects.