In celebrating the 125th anniversary of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in August 2012, NIH has been examining its origins, its history, and the visionary men and women whose research have contributed to the saving and/or improving the quality of life of millions of people throughout the world. This minireview examines Joseph James Kinyoun (1860 to 1919), the 1887 founder of a federal Hygienic Laboratory that is considered the direct ancestor of the modern NIH, and explores the development of NIH as it was shaped by, and in turn shaped, the new field of microbiology.