On 25 July 1972, the US government admitted its role in the Tuskegee syphilis experiment, a horrific 40-year study of poor Black agricultural workers in Alabama who had syphilis but were not informed.

Over the course of the study, 128 participants died of syphilis or related complications, 40 wives of participants were infected, and 19 children were born with congenital syphilis.

The government owned up following leaks to the media about the programme. The resulting public outrage forced the introduction of federal regulation to protect human subjects in medical trials.