The laboratory was founded in 1969 as the National Accelerator Laboratory.
    It was renamed in honor of Enrico Fermi in 1974.
    The first director, Robert Rathbun Wilson, opened the laboratory opened ahead of time and under budget.
    Many of the sculptures and novel structures on the site are of his creation.
    The high-rise central laboratory building, whose shape has become the symbol for Fermilab, was named in his honor.