--- description: Ryan White, who put a new face on AIDS, died 25 years ago title: Ryan White and AIDS: How One Teenager Changed the World's Perspective image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7d76b542ee4ee674/698785dc55a8593d05a868e7/white.jpeg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [History](/section/history/) ## History Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [health](/tag/health/) ## health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # How One Teenager Changed the Way the World Sees AIDS  by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Apr 8, 2015 11:00 AM CUT  Ryan White, 16, a hemophiliac who contracted AIDS, surrounded by mikes held out by reporters on April 21, 1988 Ryan White, 16, a hemophiliac who contracted AIDS, surrounded by mikes held out by reporters on April 21, 1988Taro Yamasaki—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty  by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Apr 8, 2015 11:00 AM CUT In 1984, when Ryan White was diagnosed with AIDS, the disease itself was still mystified medical professionals. When his name became national news, some of the only things that were well-known about it were that it was terrifying and communicable. White — who was 18 when he died 25 years ago, on April 8, 1990 — was a hemophiliac and had acquired HIV through a blood transfusion. In and around 1985, he made headlines by trying to attend middle school in his hometown of Kokomo, Ind. Though the state’s health department declared that it was fine for him to attend school as long as he was well enough, the district superintendent decided he would have to attend class by phoning in. His parents sued in response. As TIME remarked as the case progressed, relatively few people were directly impacted by the case: fewer than 200 school-age Americans had been diagnosed with AIDS at the time. Fear among parents, many of whom were unaware that HIV could not be transmitted through casual contact, was disproportionate. A year later, in the fall of 1986, White started eighth grade, thanks to a court order — and, then and in the years that followed, he put a familiar face on a disease that had seemed to many Americans to be distant or foreign. The sympathetic story of a young boy who just wanted to go to school ended up helping all AIDS sufferers get a fairer shake; in 1990, for example, shortly after he died, Congress passed his namesake act, which helps Americans get medical care for the disease. As Rev. Ray Probasco, a family friend of the Whites’ who eulogized Ryan, [put it](http://time.com/vault/issue/1990-04-23/page/47/ "undefined"): --- > “” --- **_Read TIME’s original 1985 coverage of White’s attempt to attend school, here in the TIME Vault:_** [The AIDS Issue Hits the Schools](http://time.com/vault/issue/1985-09-09/page/69/ "undefined") ### The Photo That Changed the Face of AIDS  David Kirby on his deathbed, Ohio, 1990. Therese Frare  In another of Therese Frare's photos taken in the final moments of David Kirby's life, his caregiver and friend, Peta; David's father; and David's sister, Susan, say goodbye. Therese Frare  Bill Kirby tries to comfort his dying son, David, 1990. Therese Frare  A nurse at Pater Noster House in Ohio holds David Kirby's hands not long before he died, spring 1990. Therese Frare  David Kirby, Ohio, 1990. Therese Frare  David Kirby's mother, Kay, holds a photograph of her son -- taken by Ohio photographer Art Smith -- before AIDS took its toll. Therese Frare  Peta, a volunteer at Pater Noster House in Ohio, cares for a dying David Kirby, 1990. Therese Frare  Peta lies on a couch in a home rented by Pater Noster House, 1991\. After the infamous ad ran, Benetton donated money to Pater Noster, some of which was used to furnish the house where Peta and other patients stayed. Therese Frare  Peta on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, July 1991\. "Peta could be a handful at times," Therese Frare told LIFE.com, "but there was a great deal of joy in our relationship. He wasn't like anyone I'd ever met." Therese Frare  Peta swims in a lake on the Pine Ridge (Lakota) Indian Reservation in South Dakota, during a trip home with photographer Therese Frare in July 1991. Therese Frare  Peta at the Pine Ridge (Lakota) Indian Reservation in South Dakota, during a trip home with Therese Frare in July 1991. Therese Frare  Peta in Ohio, 1991. Therese Frare  Peta in bed at Pater Noster House, 1992. Therese Frare  Scene at Pater Noster House, Ohio, 1991. Therese Frare  Peta at Pater Noster House, 1992. Therese Frare  Peta with Bill and Kay Kirby at Pater Noster House, 1992\. "I made up my mind," Kay Kirby said, "when David was dying and Peta was helping to care for him, that when Peta's time came -- and we all knew it would come -- that we would care for him. There was never any question. We were going to take care of Peta. That was that." Therese Frare  Kay Kirby administers medicine to Peta via an IV, 1992. Therese Frare  Peta and Bill Kirby share a quiet moment together in Peta's room, Ohio, 1992. Therese Frare  Peta in hospice, Columbus, Ohio, 1992. Therese Frare  Bill and Kay Kirby, 1992. Therese Frare ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3763875/ryan-white-history/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3763875/ryan-white-history/"},"headline":"How One Teenager Changed the Way the World Sees AIDS","datePublished":"2015-04-08T11:00:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:04:47.942Z","description":"Ryan White, who put a new face on AIDS, died 25 years ago","url":"https://time.com/3763875/ryan-white-history/","keywords":["health","HIV","Aids"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7d76b542ee4ee674/698785dc55a8593d05a868e7/white.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lily Rothman","jobTitle":"Rothman is managing editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7d76b542ee4ee674/698785dc55a8593d05a868e7/white.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Ryan White","caption":"Ryan White","creditText":"Taro Yamasaki—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/history/","name":"History"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/health/","name":"health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3763875/ryan-white-history/","name":"How One Teenager Changed the Way the World Sees AIDS"}}]}] ```