Legionnaires' disease acquired its name in July 1976, when an outbreak of pneumonia occurred among people attending a convention of the American Legion at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia. Of the 182 reported cases, mostly men, 29 died. On January 18, 1977, the causative agent was identified as a previously unknown strain of bacteria, subsequently named "Legionella", and the species that caused the outbreak was named "Legionella pneumophila". Outbreaks of Legionnaires' disease receive significant media attention, but this disease usually occurs in single, isolated cases not associated with any recognized outbreak. When outbreaks do occur, they are usually in the summer and
American Legion Veterans of the Korean War were approved for membership in The American Legion in 1950, and The American Legion Child Welfare Foundation was formed in 1954. On May 30, 1969, the Cabin John Bridge, which carried the Capital Beltway (I-495) across the Potomac River northwest of Washington, was officially renamed to the "American Legion Memorial Bridge" in a ceremony led by Lt. Gen. Lewis B. Hershey, director of the U.S. Selective Service System. In 1976, an outbreak of bacterial pneumonia occurred in a convention of The American Legion at the Bellevue Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia. This pneumonia killed 34 people