GPO Issues Digital Release of Federal Register for the 1960s


Washington –The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) and the National Archives’ Office of the Federal Register (OFR) digitally release historic issues of the Federal Register from 1960-1969. The complete collection of issues of the Federal Register from 1960 to the present is now available digitally on GPO’s govinfo. https://www.govinfo.gov/app/collection/FR.

This project is digitizing a total of 14,587 individual issues, dating back to the first Federal Register in 1936. Nearly two million pages are being digitized. The 1960s era of the Federal Register covers the Administrations of Presidents John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Richard Nixon, and includes such highlights as:

  • The first executive order of the Kennedy administration expanded food aid to needy families: January 24, 1961
  • Proclamation by President Johnson of a national day of mourning for President Kennedy: November 27, 1963
  • Notice of an establishment of a quarantine period for extraterrestrial exposure for the astronauts on the Apollo 11 space mission: July 25, 1969

“Access to the Federal Register on smartphones, tablets, laptops, and personal computers from 1960 to present is another example of how GPO is meeting the technological needs of the public,” said Acting GPO Director Jim Bradley. “I look forward to GPO and the Office of the Federal Register digitizing all issues dating back to the Administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.”

The first issue of the Federal Register came off GPO presses on March 16, 1936. President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued the first document, an executive order, to be published. The Federal Register is the official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other presidential documents. It is updated daily by 6 a.m. and is published Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays, in both digital and print editions.

GPO is the Federal Government's official, digital, secure resource for producing, procuring, cataloging, indexing, authenticating, disseminating, and preserving the official information products of the U.S. Government. The GPO is responsible for the production and distribution of information products and services for all three branches of the Federal Government, including U.S. passports for the Department of State as well as the official publications of Congress, the White House, and other Federal agencies in digital and print formats. GPO provides for permanent public access to Federal Government information at no charge through www.govinfo.gov, partnerships with approximately 1,150 libraries nationwide participating in the Federal Depository Library Program, and our secure online bookstore. For more information, please visit www.gpo.gov.

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